Once it seems like the modrons won't be coming back to kill everyone, Dapple goes back inside to see what everyone else is doing. Used to be out in the jungle roaming freely, the time just sitting around has the poor tabaxi a bit stir-crazy. He wanders into the portal room and watches Singe and Grasalfan as they work to decipher the tablet, but soon grows bored of that as well. At one point he goes over to the now-inert modron and begins to pick and poke at various parts until Grasalfan chases him off with warnings not to touch anything. Sighing deeply, he leaves.
Realizing that most of the others are outside now, he heads back out and finds Lera and Perrin digging their pit shelter. "Ooo, can I help? I'm soooooo bored," he whines (just a little). He'll quickly join Perrin in gathering vines and palm fronds for the cover.
With both Dapple and Perrin helping, Lera finished making her underground fort in no time. Close to two hours later, the team completed a very sturdy structure. The palm fronds looked like they would stay standing even if it started to rain! With a flourish, Lera sprinkled a little sand on top of them. Not enough to actually hide the roof, but it was the principle of the thing.
“Thank you for your help!” She squeezed Dapple, Polly, and Perrin into a big hug.
The world fades around her quickly and she is back into the dream-state. Slowly Woe emerges out of the darkness. She realises that her body remembers. There is a strong pull on her mind to give in to the drug. To be mindless and controlled again. But she fights against it. She remembers Koll's strength in the place. Remembers his meditations and his calm. (OOC: CHA save with disadvantage: 2d20kl1+1d6+5 = (+10)+4+5 = 19)
But she breaks through. And all of a sudden she sees the place in a different light. She is strong. There's so many people this time, far more than she remembered her first time being here. For a second, she sees a reflection of herself and Koll, as if a part of them has remained here... forever separated from themselves. I look so helpless and alone, standing in the middle of the crowd with my eyes wide open, Woe thinks. Her phantom self is soon gone though, replaced with her real self. A thinking being in control of her own actions and destiny. She feels a sort of power flowing through her, these husks of people are at her command now.
Woe looks around. She wonders if her magic would be of use in such a place. To find out, she does a small test. She tries to rip her virtual clothes, just a little bit at the seam. It tears easily, as if your command of the material is by will alone. Then, as she casts mending, it immediately begins to return to one piece. It's odd though, she doesn't feel the weave around her as she mends it. She does it again, this time thinking it back into one piece. It mends itself. Hm, as long as my will is strong enough, I should be able to command the truth if I need it. Woe is confident.
Then she starts to search for Lord Eltan. "Hello Woe," she hears his voice behind her, just as she begins to think to search for him. "Lord Eltan. This world, it is amazing. You wanted to talk?" "Tell me what happened," he says simply. Woe clearly feels the power of this place moving through him, as if he weren't really there. She didn't notice this before because she couldn't feel the ebb and flow of this place, but she gets the sense that he's not actually here... not in the same way she is. It seems that he has another way of entering this dream world. One that doesn't involve drugs and addiction.
She questions him: "Can you tell me what happened? Tell me what the arrangement was, for Polly?"
"The arrangement was to get the girl to The Memory," he responds. Woe is trying to dig deeper: "What have you heard of the events that unfolded?" "Only what you've told me, Woe. Now answer my question, what happened?"
She decides to tell him: "The captain of the memory wanted to take her to a teleportation device. What do you know about that?"
"I have no knowledge of this, but if he betrayed Lord Turcassan something will have to be done."
Woe wonders: "Lord Turcassan? How is he involved? Who else did you talk to?" "The Captain was his man, Woe. Not mine." Then Lord Eltan adds: "Though a teleportation would have gotten her here much quicker. But my ties to Chult are not strong enough to know who would have that power there."
"I thought the same. If I had known about the transportation device, I would have been the first to send the girl through. So much safer and quicker than a boat. Here is what happened. We - our adventurer group - met with the captain to see if he could be trusted. I had met with him multiple times, and he always seemed sincere. He was really looking forward to doing business with Lord Turcassan and Lord Viscardi, and even with you. He wanted to be on his best behaviour. I am absolutely certain he didn't try to cross anybody. BUT, he was instructed to bring Polly to the merchant prince Wakanga O'tuma to be sent somewhere via teleportation. When we found out about it, I asked the captain and he said specifically "They said not to tell Lady Woe that it would be through magic. The girl is terrified of magic, they said!" and then "Lord Eltan. He wanted the child to be teleported... that's all I know! Wakanga was supposed to send her to Baldur's Gate." Hearing these words, one of our members and Polly's best friend sent a fireball straight at the captains chest. He died that instant - and we fled Port Nyanzaru to Lantan. So here is my question: You were named by the captain. But I trust you. You wouldn't lie to me. So what is going on???"
"A lot of things... it seems." Lord Eltan nods as you recount the story. "It might be a good idea to avoid Chult, for now. I'll try to smooth things over and find out what went wrong on this end. For now, try to regain the trust of your allies. Also... avoid this place. I've seen Chultaans here, and if you're recognized they may be able to track you down. Murder is not taken lightly, and if the Merchant Prince that owns the Captain finds the Captain's worth to be high, they'll be looking for the girl's best friend."
"It would be a good idea to leave this Island as soon as you can," he adds. "They may already be on their way there."
At the mention that they could be found out through the dream world, Woe lowers her voice. "We're stuck here on the island, our flying machine got destroyed. It will take us two to three days to repair it." Then Woe remembers something else. "What about Lord Viscardi? Have you been in contact? His sister is still with us, she is safe with us, can you let him know?"
"There's been no sign of his steward and Viscardi seems to be out of the city on business elsewhere. I would suggesting leaving the island as soon as you can, Woe. Good luck," he says, fading from view.
"Lord Eltan, wait!" But he's already gone.
Woe looks around. She quickly concentrates on a variety of faces (OOC: perception 1d20+1 = (19)+1 = 20). First Lord Viscardi's. But there is no sign of him at this place. Then Whistler. But he is also not here. At last, she checks for Lord Turcasson
Wait... She can see something... Is that... the little girl from outside the Baldur's Gate? The one that was lost?? The one that was diseased???
The girl fades from sight as soon as Woe sees her. And she is also sure that Lord Turcasson is not in the dream-world.
So Woe decides to leave, and all around her goes black again.
Woe wakes slowly, breathing out the odd toxins that she inhaled.
When she opens her eyes, Zamar and Koll are still watching over her. She is relieved to be back and to feel the hard roof under her back. Slowly she sits up. "Lord Eltan had no idea about the teleportation device. I guess we need to have a group meeting with everybody involved. Also, I need to speak to Singe." When Woe gets up to climb off the roof, but doubles over instead. After a couple of minutes she feels better. Then she changes her mind.
She turns to Koll and Zamar and tells them everything she experienced. Including the short vision of the sick girl.
Zamar says, "I'd imagine that you are weak from the drugs. Do Koll and I need to help you down? Want me to check and make sure nothing is wrong?"
Woe looks around, and lowers her voice to make sure no one else is listening in. "Thank you, Zamar. No, I think I am fine. I will probably feel the drugs withdrawal again tonight. So I would like to ask either of you to keep the leftover doses of the Thraul. I think, maybe Koll should take them and keep them from me. Polly or Lera might find them by accident in your pack, Zamar. I don't even want to think about what might happen. Please also hide them from me. Addiction might hit harder the second time around."
Then Woe climbs down from the roof and starts working on the flying machine. Mending each break slowly and carefully.
Zamar comes down and looks for Polly. “How is your mission going, Little One? Anything to report?” He gives her shoulder a little squeeze.
"Lera dug a hole," Polly said, with a shrug.
“Good work!” he laughs. “So, she seems okay to you?”
Polly shrugged again. "She seems like Lera!"
“And how about you? How are you doing? I suspect this has been a lot for you.”
"I'm..." Polly said, pausing. "...okay."
“That was not very convincing.” He smiles. “It’s okay to be scared or worried. I’m here if you ever want to talk.”
Polly simply nods.
He nods back and lets the subject drop. "I am very proud of you. You handled yourself very well," he tells her.
"I... I just want to be an adventurer like all of you." Polly smiles up at Zamar, proud of herself.
"You are!" he exclaims. "You are still young and inexperienced, but you have shown power, responsibility, and teamwork. If you can learn to trust us when we tell you we want you around, I think you will be one of our best." He smiles. "You must also remember that you are still very young and that your brother is your legal guardian. We must defer to him, not because he is our boss, but because he is ultimately responsible for you. That said, I would happily serve with you guarding my back."
"Okay," Polly said, looking slightly sad. "I'm sorry I caused so much trouble."
"You need not apologize, Little One. We all caused trouble. It is part and parcel of learning t be a family. I am sorry I upset you. Lera is sorry she scared you. Woe is sorry she was wrong about the Captain. We have all had missteps and have come out stronger for it. You are alive and we are glad to Have you here. Let us move forward with no guilt or shame?"
Polly smiled at this. "Okay. What do we do now? The flying machine is broken. How do we get home?"
"Nothing is ever truly broken, child." Grasalfan stands outside and stretches after a long day of research. "I can fix it in no time!"
After a very busy day of destroying an ancient relic of Lantan, the group finally finds proper rest during the night. The distant lapping of the ocean is heard, pierced by the occasional bird that has found its way onto the island. When morning comes, the Scarlet Dawn feels refreshed and invigorated.
Upon first light, Grasalfan is up and at it again. He gives the flying machine a quick once-over, announcing to anyone present that the mechanisms haven't been damaged at all. "Quite flyable!" He announces. "It's much more sturdy than I thought it would be!" Grasalfan then heads back into the Portal room to continue trying to crack the modron.
Woe has worked into the night (5 hours) on the flying machine. She started with the more obvious, easier tears of the construction and used her mending magic over and over. After midnight, she feels the strain of the day and climbs back up onto the roof to lie down to sleep. She has dreams, the drug calling for her, but she wakes and still feels in control over her withdrawal (OOC: nat 20 CON save) and she knows she can stay strong.
Before morning she gets up and takes up the last watch of the night. When Grasalfan wakes and inspects the flying machine, she walks with him with interest.
"Grasalfan, you think the flying machine can be used right now? How far could we make it? Do you know the islands around? Would we be able to fly directly into Baldur's Gate or is it too far?"
Grasalfan nods to Woe. "Was it you that did those minor repairs? Very well done," he says. "I've not tried flying the machine that far, but I think it's doable! The damage was merely artificial. Nothing important was damaged. I think..." He thinks a moment, as if doing calculations in his head, "I think maybe we can!"
Dapple awakens and crawls out from Lera's shelter, stretching and blinking in the morning sun. He looks around to see who is awake, then moves into the portal building to seek out Singe.
Singe is out of bed, dressed for the day, reading his spellbook. Barry is on the workbench preening himself.
Wandering the building, Dapple first pokes his head into the portal modron room. Seeing no one, he moves on, finally finding Singe in the remains of the workshop. He approaches the wizard, a somewhat confused look on his feline face. "Good morning, Singe," he offers. "I... had a dream last night. There is such a big hole in my memories, lost time. I've been these dreams every night since you all found me." He falls silent for a moment, considering his words. "They feel like memories, or fragments at least, but I don't remember any of the events actually happening. I just don;t know if they did or not. Anyway, last night I dreamt of this place - or at least I think it was. The portal modron's room - but this was in the middle of a huge active city. Do you think that could be real? Everything fallen to ruin in just a few hundred years?"
Singe frowns, "You were here, but come from Chult? Fascinating... Perhaps your captor's work will provide some answers. To answer your question, this place probably fell during the spellplague when Lantan disappeared from the map all together. Great empires fall in less than a decade; I would not be surprised if that's what happened here."
Dapple continues "Well, I saw myself trying to open the portal, I think? It looked that way. I had a key, but when I used it, ti set off all sorts of alarms so I took it and ran. I found my way down from here - some sort of chute or tunnel, I think? Did you find anything like that? If it was real, that may save you and Grasalfan a lot of time."
Singe nods, “Yes there is a chute, but it was not as helpful as it could have been. I think exploring the rest of the ruins might prove fruitful.”
"You already went down there then? I don't know - the city seemed so big, and I specifically remember going down a chute. Maybe something will trigger more memories if I went down myself." Dapple wonders.
Singe points towards the chute, “Be careful, what ever was down there two hundred years ago is no longer there. There are flumphs and rust monsters.”
"Flumphs? What is that? Are they dangerous?"
Singe shakes his head, “Incredibly passive. They might be able to help you remember what happened.”
Polly walks up beside Dapple and Singe, and shyly tugs at Dapple's arm. "Excuse me, Mr. Kitty... um, Dapple? If you are going to visit the Flumphs, can I go with you?"
“I’m bored,” Lera sat in the middle of a sand castle she had built. “Can we go explore the forest? I told you, dad, I’m fine.”
“Maybe we can go see the Flumphs. They would probably want to know that the portal Modron is gone.” Perrin responds
Singe gathers his stuff, letting Dapple make this decision, and goes outside looking for Grasalfan. Barry swoops down and out of the building after Singe.
“No ones said being an adventurer was all this waiting around,” Lera muttered to herself. “When can we get back to killing things?”
Woe is still with Grasalfan. When she sees Singe approaching, she talks to him: "Good morning, Singe. I wanted to talk to you." She nods towards the bird. "You have Barry back. Did you receive any reply?"
Sine sighs, "No, he couldn't find Mr. Whistler or Viscardi."
"So he didn't deliver the message to anyone?" Woe enquires.
"No, he delivered it to, I believe, Madaline?" Singe questions. Barry caws.
Woe sighs. "Oh! Ok. That's good to know." Then she turns. "We need to have a group meeting. I'll go inside and get everyone together."
Singe turns to Grasalfan as Woe walks away, "What's on today's research agenda? Personally, I can't get anything more out of the drawings I have. I think that they may have kept paper records in another building, it might be worth investigating the ruins for."
Woe walks inside the building, finding Dapple and Perrin close to the chute. "I have found out some more details. Can we please have a group meeting outside?" Then she goes around, telling everybody to meet outside.
Lera follows inside quietly, excited for some kind of action and Shano follows behind Woe as she gathers the rest of the group.
When everybody is gathered. Woe looks at Koll and Zamar for support. Then she begins to recount last night's events.
"I have some news. Do you remember what Koll and I told you about the dream world. I actually bought another dose of the Thraul when we delivered the package. Last night I used it to search for Lord Eltan and to talk to him." Woe takes a deep breath.
"First of all, I am not sure that your brother has any knowledge that you, Polly," At this moment Woe looks into Polly's eyes "... have run away and that you are with us. Lord Eltan has not been able to contact him, and Singe confirmed to me, that Barry didn't find him either. Also, Mr Whistler seems to have left the guild house as well. I am assuming he is searching for you, Polly. Did you leave him a message when you left the house?"
Then Woe pauses. She addresses Polly again: "Polly. I am sorry I haven't spoken to you about this previously. In Port Nyanzaru I had tried to find a save passage for you to return to your brother. Lord Eltan helped me arrange the travel means by asking the Captain of the boat 'The Memory', if he could take you back to Baldur's Gate on his boat. Neither Lord Eltan nor I had any knowledge about a teleportation device. And neither of us know why the Captain was told 'not to tell lady Woe' or why he said 'the girl is afraid of magic'. So the only other person that I could be involved is Lord Turcassan. He is a wealthy merchant doing business with Chult. But he is also from Lord Viscardi's home district. Who knows, maybe there is an old connection? Have you heard his name before, Polly?"
Again Woe takes a deep breath, then continues: "Lord Eltan promised me to investigate. But he warned me. The Merchant Prince is powerful and murder is not taken lightly in Chult. He implored me not to return back to Chult and also to leave Lantan as soon as possible. He worries we will be chased down. Specifically he warned that if the Merchant Prince thinks the Captain's worth to be high, then they'll be looking for the one who killed him." At this moment Woe stares at Lera.
"With the flying machine able to take off, I think, we should do some calculations. Grasalfan, how long would a normal boat need from Chult to arrive on this island? Maybe we can stay another day, give you a little more time, Singe and Grasalfan, to work out the portal. But in my opinion, I think we need to leave the island no later than tomorrow morning!" She looks into everyone's eyes to make sure they get the importance of this message.
Then she adds the last bit of information. "Singe, I also saw the girl, the sick girl that we saw at the gate to the upper city. She was in the dream world. Even if only briefly."
When Woe finished telling everybody what she experienced, she goes silent and waits for the barrage of questions sure to follow.
Polly hides behind Dapple, unhappy with the barrage of questions Woe had for her. "I-I didn't leave a note," she said softly. Then, even quieter, "I'm sorry." She shrinks away, hoping for the questions to stop.
"We might need more than a day, we need to find the cog, somewhere in the portal modron." Singe says.
"We might not have more than a day. Depending on how fast a ship can be here. We cannot risk Lera's life to search for a cog. Why is it important? I thought we beat that thing?" Woe snips.
"I imagine a ship would be on the shore now if it were dispatched shortly after we left," Grasalfan says.
"But there is more than one island in Lantan, no? Does anyone in Chult possibly know exactly where we went??" Woe asks pointedly.
Singe looks to Barry and Barry screaches and flies up.
"Well, I..." Grasalfan coughs, "I had to tell the harbormaster..."
"That settles it. We're not safe here." Woe looks expectantly to Singe to find out what Barry is seeing.
"Harbormaster Zindar was very considerate of us when we met him, however, that was before we killed a man and helped the murderer escape." Singe says, "No offense Lera."
“We are not killing the military. Singe do you think you could talk them out of killing us. Maybe a trial would be best.” Perrin says.
"Oh yes, a trial would probably be the outcome but I know little about the law in Port Nyanzaru. If it's like Baldur's Gate, we're not going to get away with it. At the minimum I can see Lera being charged with manslaughter and spending... five years in prison? As accomplices, we'd either get heavily fined or jailed ourselves."
"I'm not going back to prison, whatever it takes." Shanolia mutters coldly.
"What’s are other option? Run away,” Perrin states.
"Yes actually, but that would mean we would never be able to return to Chult and we would also have a bounty on our heads, making it very hard to do reputable business elsewhere." Singe frowns, then smiles slightly, "Zamar, Woe, and I could probably make a pretty good legal team. We would just need the time... and the books... and to talk to Viscardi."
"Can Barry see if they are here?" Perrin asks Singe.
"Barry might be divine, but he's still a bird. Give him a moment." Singe says.
"Singe, I do think there might be another option. But first we need to find out who crossed us! Then we can argue against them. Right now, we're the offenders and there is not much to say for our side. If the Merchant Prince is involved, or Lord Turcassan, and they are doing shady business, we will have a much stronger case." Then she adds: "I suggest, run now - and then fight, when we're actually prepared!"
"Well, if they appear I can attempt to put them to sleep with magic to stall but based on how many their are and how far away they are we might just have to leave and then fight them in the court.” Perrin says.
"In a murder trial, the easiest way to not get convicted is if we were acting in self defense." Singe says, working through his own mental process out loud. "We weren't. We were acting in the protection of Polly."
"No one tried to forcibly remover her from us. So murder was not an 'appropriate' reaction. At least before a court." Woe adds.
"None of us are legal guardians of Polly so have no more claim on her well-being then any other person, including Captain Segred. In effect, we could also be charged guilty of kidnapping." Woe nods her head while Singe is explaining their situation, "Lera could still be charged with murder of Captain Segred. We would be considered accomplices."
"But... but I wasn't kidnapped!" Polly runs out from behind Dapple, addressing everyone. "I ran away! I'll tell them that!"
"You ran away on to a ship." Singe explains patiently, "The captain was then legally responsible for you. Then, in the eyes of the law, you went with legal strangers on to deserted island. Your volition does not matter to Baldur's Gate. This is all based on Baldurian law. Port Nyanzaru might treat this differently."
“Grasalfan do you know anything Chultan laws?” Perrin asks.
“So what if you all say that something happened to me?” Lera worries her bottom lip. “I’m the problem here, and while you all could be considered ‘accomplices’, they’re really after me. So, if I’m not around, would the problem go away?”
"We could disguise you if anyone has a kit, say you took off..." Shanolia rubs her chin through her mask. "Cut and dye your hair when we get back? Name change might- Actually that would take a lot of work. Anyone have an idea that isn't so stupid?"
"I also can do it magically! It’s not that stupid,” Lera lashs out. “What’s stupid is you all being wanted on an entire continent because I lost my temper."
"I am already wanted. On the entire continent, I might add. What's a bit more gold? It's you all I'm worried about. Specifically, Polly." Shanolia says.
"But... this all happened because of me!" Polly looks at everyone wildly. "I can fix this... can't I?"
“I don’t know Polly. Laws and everything is complicated. I don’t think it’s you coming with us is that is the problem. But it’s the murder of the Captain.” Perrin tried to explain.
"No, you can’t. What’s done is done, now it’s all about intent.” Singe sighs, "I don’t think any individual will be a problem, we will all be charged."
"But he died because of me!" Polly looks on the verge of tears. "I messed up! I want to fix it! Please, let me talk to them?"
"If they come or we go to Chult, you may make your case along with ours." Singe freezes, his face contorts from quiet worry to anguish.
"The relevant equation is: Knowledge = power = energy = matter = mass; a good bookshop is just a genteel Black Hole that knows how to read." - Terry Pratchett
“Of, course they are,” Perrin says. “Decisions made now. Go back or Run away into the underground or into the aircraft.”
"If we run or go under, our only way home is still here in the open. Do we really have a choice?" Shanolia says
Singe snaps to attention, “The Memory is about a mile off the coast of the island. Six small boats are on the shore of the beach.” “We go.” Singe says matter-of-factly, “The farther we run the harsher the punishment.”
"I can fix this! I'll just tell them what happened." With this being said, Polly turned and started walking toward the beach.
"Plentyn, wait. We go together." Shanolia says
"You want to WALK to the beach??? No way. I don't know the underground, so I vote flying machine. We still don't know who is involved, who has betrayed who. This is not the time to talk!" Woe says
“Yes, I do. Because the more threatening we are the worse the punishment!” Singe says.
"How about we stay here, let them come to us? We're not running, not fighting, simply remaining where we have the upper hand. And we don't leave our only mode of transport unattended." Shanolia says
"Singe, how many people? And are they the crew of the memory? Or law enforcement? Woe says
“Why does it matter?” Singe snaps, “We will not be fighting them.”
"You want them to take us in handcuffs to Chult? To take us to court? We have nothing to defend ourselves!" Woe says
Polly huffs and begins walking again.
"Polly, please. Just wait one moment while we figure this out." Shanolia says
“It’s better than running!” Singe says.
"Yes, it matters, I met the crew, I could maybe argue with them. Maybe offer them drony's treasure. Police or military won't just give up!" Woe says
Polly pauses once again, arms crossed over her chest, sending glances toward the beach.
"No, no it's not!" Woe screams
"On the ship, I grabbed a handful of gems and crystals. Perhaps we could talk it out?" Shanolia says
Singe looks at Woe with pure anger, “I will not be chased by another lord!”
"You'll rot in his prison for the next 10 years! Now tell me, how many men and what do they look like! I am not going to attack, but I really don't want them to take u, prisoner" Woe says
“How do we know that? And frankly, it’s better than the cockroaches!” Singe’s hair spins and dances, his hands light.
"Both of you, shut the hell up and think rationally! We've no time for petty bickering, they'll likely be on us in an hour, we need to be ready!" Shanolia says
Woe turns to Grasalfan: "you're our employer. What do you think is best?"
"Break open the modron and run?" Grasalfan offers. "The flying machine will make it to Baldur's Gate. I know it will! Let your Lord smooth things over with Chult... doing anything more might just make it worse."
Singe extinguishes his hands and mutters, “This is a terrible idea.”
"Lord Viscardi is our employer and is ultimately responsible for our actions. I vote we let him figure this out." Shanolia says
"How long do you need in there, Grasalfan?" Woe says
“I can make myself invisible,” Lera suggested. “Just tell them I perished in the fight.”
"If you're not here, they'll take out their anger on us. But yes, it might take the initial brunt off. But Grasalfan has spoken. About half of us should help him, the others need to get the flying machine ready." Woe says
"I think I can make a hole within the hour," he responds to Woe. "With help, we could pop it open much quicker!"
“Tymora hope that’s enough time.” Singe rubs his hands together. “Woe and I will help, anyone else?”
"I'd be no help out here, I'll help. Polly, do you want to help us?" Shanolia says
"Yes, please," Polly said, turning back to the group. "I just want to fix my mistake."
"Your time will come, Plentyn. For now, let us focus on staying alive and free." Shanolia says
“If you’re breaking something open let me help. I’ve been dying to break that thing since I first saw it.” Perrin says walking to the portal Modron room and helping break it open.
The Scarlet Dawn, heeding the wise gnome's superior wisdom, begin disassembling the Portal Modron piece by piece. It's a gamble, as they don't know how long the crew of The Memory has been travelling in the jungle. It's a group effort, even Polly seems to be tearing through the machine, but it isn't until Koll rips open a hatch that everyone sees what is inside. Blackened with some sort of rot, a modron sits in the center. It looks like a giant worm with a single mouth that is complete with lips. The modron slowly, painfully, turns its attention to those gazing in the hole, it's various eyes in different shapes of wear and degradation. Above it is a tarnished and cracked cog, the size of Lera's hand.
Nothing happens. The creature raises an eyeball and watches, then closes the eye as if the strain was too much. Lera now has the cog. Grasalfan stands with an open pouch, excitedly hopping from one leg to the other. "See? Told you guys, nothing would happen," Lera held the cog out to Grasalfan. "I didn't touch the cog the first time." Grasalfan slips it into the pouch and cinches it tight. "Lets go!" He calls out.
"Lets" Perrin says, He'll be the last to enter the aircraft making sure all his friends are inside first.
Woe takes the same seat in the flying machine, joined by Koll, while Shanolia quickly finds her seat in the flying machine from before, pulling her legs back and making room for Grasalfan and Perrin to get to the cockpit.
Zamar joins them in the flying machine and straps in, and Lera hops into her old seat, looks at her father, then straps in. Singe looks at Barry, Barry swoops into the trees and caws. Singe climbs aboard, checking that he has all of his arcane foci.
Dapple climbs in with the others, taking a place in the rear of the machine. As they load up, he watches out the open hatch for signs of the pursuers they know are on their way. As Dapple gets comfortable, Polly finds her way to him, crawls into his lap, and snuggles in for the flight.
As everyone piles in to the flying machine, Grasalfan pulls himself over to the cockpit. "Everyone ready??" He asks. Without waiting for an answer, he raises the rear hatch and ignites the engines, the wings expanding as he does. The flying machine slowly raises, leaving scorch marks on the earth below. There's slight turbulence as the machine breaks through the canopy above, but once it does he hits the lever to push the flying machine forward at top speed.
Whooooooosh - The sound is deafening to those in the quiet jungle. The group following the tracks to the Modron Tower hear and see the flying machine as it passes overhead. All heads raised, one of them speaks up. "Ain't that the piss?" He says in his heavy Chultaan accent, "It looks like ya missed em."
"Better 'n we did," another responds. "It'd prolly have ended in bloodshed even with their friend here..."
Mr Whistler turns to scan the crew of The Memory, his bird-eyes blinking in frustration. A darkness seems to spread from him as he says in his odd voice, "I will be confiscating your ship now..."
Travel on the flying machine is exhausting. It's cramped, stinky, and has no suitable place to relieve oneself. Each person takes turns standing and pacing in the middle section to keep their blood flowing. It isn't until deep into the second day that Grasalfan calls, "Land ho!! Do we land??" He asks. Turning to the Scarlet Dawn and seeing their expressions, he begins to descend to a clearing on the outskirt of a forest.
The ocean pelts the rocks along this massive cliff, the forest trees merely a few hundred feet away. From above, the forest stretched as far as you could see, but it seems as though Grasalfan plans on staying as close to shore from here-on-out in case any malfunctions occur. The engines are steaming and are scalding hot to the touch, but everyone is happy to stretch their legs and get some fresh air.
Woe gets out of the ship. "So, let's spend the night here?" This has been a torture and reminded her very much of her days in prison. She walks along the cliff to stretch her legs. There she makes a promise to herself. No matter what will come of this adventure, I promise, I am not going back to prison. I will fight for my life.She looks back at the sorry figures surrounding the flying machine. And I will happily give my life for these guys. They have become friends. Good friends. If only sometimes they could hold their attacks. Then she smiles to herself. She was once young. And there most certainly was no shortage of trouble...
After a while she sits down and looks out over the sea while the sun starts to sink. It's not going to be boring, that's for sure... Then she smiles again to herself.
Koll is able to deal with the hardship of being in cramped conditions for hours upon hours on end. He is not so sure about some of the others and thinks an extended stop to camp here would be a good idea. They have certainly put some space between them and their pursuers, and could use a chance to breathe fresh air. Nevertheless, others seem to be quite eager to get back to Baldur's Gate. He feels that however Polly is doing is what will decide what they do.
"Polly, what say you?" he asks the little girl. "Do we camp or keep flying?"
Polly is looking out at the ocean, in no particular direction. The waves crash across the cliffs sending some spray up occasionally. "I like it here!" Polly responds, "It's beautiful."
As soon as the door opens, Dapple escapes for the freedom of the open beach. Stretching and breathing deeply of the fresh air, he says nothing for several minutes as he paces and works out the kinks. Finally, with a sigh, he returns to the group clustered about Grasalfan's flying machine. "Are we far enough ahead that we can spend a night here," he asked aloud in response to Woe's suggestion. "I think we could all use a break from being crammed inside there, but not if we risk being caught while we are here."
Perrin goes up to Polly before saying “Hey Polly. Do you want to continue to Baldurs Gate or do you want to spend the night here and continue in the morning?”
Polly looked at the ocean a moment more then turned away. "I think I want to go home now, please."
“Okay. How about we eat a little first? Give everyone some time to stretch their legs.” Perrin says with a smile.
Polly nods. "We can stay for a while. I like it here. Nothing is trying to kill us!"
Zamar says, “You realize things are often trying to kill adventurers, right?”
“Yeah. I like that too. Why don’t we go tell the others and then let’s see if Dapple can get us something fresh for tonight.” Perrin says and then gives a slight glare at Zamar for his comment before saying “That doesn’t mean we like it.”
Overhearing Perrin's comment, Dapple is quick to agree that some fresh food would be wonderful. He disappears into the forest, returning after about 30 minutes with a small brace of rabbits. Offering it up for a meal, he shrugs his shoulders. "It's not as much as I would have liked to have, given our numbers, but I didn't want to be gone too long either. I thought you might get worried and wander off looking for me."
Singe stretches, "We're staying the night?" Seeing a general consensus, Singe nods and walks towards the cliff and begins to practice arcane gestures.
Shanolia stretches her arms and back before stepping from the airship and walking around for a bit. Seeing the rabbits that Dapple brings back half an hour later, she returns to the inside of the ship to grab some rations from her pack and eat those, to ensure that there's more food for everyone else. When she finishes eating, she sets her pack on the seat and stretches out, using the seat as a bed and her pack as a pillow while she naps.
“I’ll get started on cooking these up and we should probably set up a watch. I’ll take the first watch since I can’t see very well when it gets too dark.” Perrin says to the group and then turns to Polly “Do you want to help me cook? You can ask me any questions about being an adventure or divine powers while we do. I’m sure you have some and I’m sure Lera told you what you are.” Perrin says with a smile.
"Sure!" Polly says, walking over to Perrin. She stands up taller as if comparing sizes. "Why are halflings so short?" She asks.
“I don’t know really. It’s just what the Gods wanted. Besides; shorter things are cuter.” Perrin says with a smirk.
"I have god magic," Polly responds. "Maybe I can make you taller."
“Maybe you can but I’d prefer if you didn’t. I quite like my height actually.” Perrin says proudly
Polly continues to help Perrin with dinner but loses interest quickly when they start to skin the rabbits and chop off their feet. She looks over at Mr. Bun., eyes wide.
“Don’t worry Polly. We’ll never eat Mr. Bun. He’s a special creature. I’ve never seen a bunny quite like him.” Perrin says
"I'm going to make sure Mr. Bun doesn't see," she comments, heading over to play with the Almiraj.
Perrin lets out a happy sigh and then finishes making dinner.
After tending to the flying machine, Grasalfan starts to set up his tent.
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Once it seems like the modrons won't be coming back to kill everyone, Dapple goes back inside to see what everyone else is doing. Used to be out in the jungle roaming freely, the time just sitting around has the poor tabaxi a bit stir-crazy. He wanders into the portal room and watches Singe and Grasalfan as they work to decipher the tablet, but soon grows bored of that as well. At one point he goes over to the now-inert modron and begins to pick and poke at various parts until Grasalfan chases him off with warnings not to touch anything. Sighing deeply, he leaves.
Realizing that most of the others are outside now, he heads back out and finds Lera and Perrin digging their pit shelter. "Ooo, can I help? I'm soooooo bored," he whines (just a little). He'll quickly join Perrin in gathering vines and palm fronds for the cover.
With both Dapple and Perrin helping, Lera finished making her underground fort in no time. Close to two hours later, the team completed a very sturdy structure. The palm fronds looked like they would stay standing even if it started to rain! With a flourish, Lera sprinkled a little sand on top of them. Not enough to actually hide the roof, but it was the principle of the thing.
“Thank you for your help!” She squeezed Dapple, Polly, and Perrin into a big hug.
PBP: DM of Titans of Tomorrow
PBP: Lera Zahuv in Whispers of Dissent
PBP: Evaine Brae in Innistrad: Dark Ascension
PBP: Cor'avin in Tomb of Annihilation
Zamar comes down and looks for Polly. “How is your mission going, Little One? Anything to report?” He gives her shoulder a little squeeze.
"Lera dug a hole," Polly said, with a shrug.
“Good work!” he laughs. “So, she seems okay to you?”
Polly shrugged again. "She seems like Lera!"
“And how about you? How are you doing? I suspect this has been a lot for you.”
"I'm..." Polly said, pausing. "...okay."
“That was not very convincing.” He smiles. “It’s okay to be scared or worried. I’m here if you ever want to talk.”
Polly simply nods.
He nods back and lets the subject drop. "I am very proud of you. You handled yourself very well," he tells her.
"I... I just want to be an adventurer like all of you." Polly smiles up at Zamar, proud of herself.
"You are!" he exclaims. "You are still young and inexperienced, but you have shown power, responsibility, and teamwork. If you can learn to trust us when we tell you we want you around, I think you will be one of our best." He smiles. "You must also remember that you are still very young and that your brother is your legal guardian. We must defer to him, not because he is our boss, but because he is ultimately responsible for you. That said, I would happily serve with you guarding my back."
"Okay," Polly said, looking slightly sad. "I'm sorry I caused so much trouble."
"You need not apologize, Little One. We all caused trouble. It is part and parcel of learning t be a family. I am sorry I upset you. Lera is sorry she scared you. Woe is sorry she was wrong about the Captain. We have all had missteps and have come out stronger for it. You are alive and we are glad to Have you here. Let us move forward with no guilt or shame?"
Polly smiled at this. "Okay. What do we do now? The flying machine is broken. How do we get home?"
"Nothing is ever truly broken, child." Grasalfan stands outside and stretches after a long day of research. "I can fix it in no time!"
Zamar Zahuv - Level 4 Aasimar Bard in Whispers of Dissent
Golos - Level 1 Halfling Barbarian in Night's Dark Terror
Jerrok Flametongue - Level 6 Human Barbarian in Zendikar - Whispers of the Aeons
R'thr Ka'ri - Level 5 Paladin in The Adventures of Bubbles (every other Wednesday)
Johnathan Moonspeaker - Level 6 Druid in Web of Lies (every other Friday)
DM of Something Wicked This Way Comes - D&D Modernverse (every other Tuesday)
After a very busy day of destroying an ancient relic of Lantan, the group finally finds proper rest during the night. The distant lapping of the ocean is heard, pierced by the occasional bird that has found its way onto the island. When morning comes, the Scarlet Dawn feels refreshed and invigorated.
Upon first light, Grasalfan is up and at it again. He gives the flying machine a quick once-over, announcing to anyone present that the mechanisms haven't been damaged at all. "Quite flyable!" He announces. "It's much more sturdy than I thought it would be!" Grasalfan then heads back into the Portal room to continue trying to crack the modron.
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Woe has worked into the night (5 hours) on the flying machine. She started with the more obvious, easier tears of the construction and used her mending magic over and over. After midnight, she feels the strain of the day and climbs back up onto the roof to lie down to sleep. She has dreams, the drug calling for her, but she wakes and still feels in control over her withdrawal (OOC: nat 20 CON save) and she knows she can stay strong.
Before morning she gets up and takes up the last watch of the night. When Grasalfan wakes and inspects the flying machine, she walks with him with interest.
"Grasalfan, you think the flying machine can be used right now? How far could we make it? Do you know the islands around? Would we be able to fly directly into Baldur's Gate or is it too far?"
Grasalfan nods to Woe. "Was it you that did those minor repairs? Very well done," he says. "I've not tried flying the machine that far, but I think it's doable! The damage was merely artificial. Nothing important was damaged. I think..." He thinks a moment, as if doing calculations in his head, "I think maybe we can!"
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When everybody is gathered. Woe looks at Koll and Zamar for support. Then she begins to recount last night's events.
"I have some news. Do you remember what Koll and I told you about the dream world. I actually bought another dose of the Thraul when we delivered the package. Last night I used it to search for Lord Eltan and to talk to him." Woe takes a deep breath.
"First of all, I am not sure that your brother has any knowledge that you, Polly," At this moment Woe looks into Polly's eyes "... have run away and that you are with us. Lord Eltan has not been able to contact him, and Singe confirmed to me, that Barry didn't find him either. Also, Mr Whistler seems to have left the guild house as well. I am assuming he is searching for you, Polly. Did you leave him a message when you left the house?"
Then Woe pauses. She addresses Polly again: "Polly. I am sorry I haven't spoken to you about this previously. In Port Nyanzaru I had tried to find a save passage for you to return to your brother. Lord Eltan helped me arrange the travel means by asking the Captain of the boat 'The Memory', if he could take you back to Baldur's Gate on his boat. Neither Lord Eltan nor I had any knowledge about a teleportation device. And neither of us know why the Captain was told 'not to tell lady Woe' or why he said 'the girl is afraid of magic'. So the only other person that I could be involved is Lord Turcassan. He is a wealthy merchant doing business with Chult. But he is also from Lord Viscardi's home district. Who knows, maybe there is an old connection? Have you heard his name before, Polly?"
Again Woe takes a deep breath, then continues: "Lord Eltan promised me to investigate. But he warned me. The Merchant Prince is powerful and murder is not taken lightly in Chult. He implored me not to return back to Chult and also to leave Lantan as soon as possible. He worries we will be chased down. Specifically he warned that if the Merchant Prince thinks the Captain's worth to be high, then they'll be looking for the one who killed him." At this moment Woe stares at Lera.
"With the flying machine able to take off, I think, we should do some calculations. Grasalfan, how long would a normal boat need from Chult to arrive on this island? Maybe we can stay another day, give you a little more time, Singe and Grasalfan, to work out the portal. But in my opinion, I think we need to leave the island no later than tomorrow morning!" She looks into everyone's eyes to make sure they get the importance of this message.
Then she adds the last bit of information. "Singe, I also saw the girl, the sick girl that we saw at the gate to the upper city. She was in the dream world. Even if only briefly."
When Woe finished telling everybody what she experienced, she goes silent and waits for the barrage of questions sure to follow.
Polly hides behind Dapple, unhappy with the barrage of questions Woe had for her. "I-I didn't leave a note," she said softly. Then, even quieter, "I'm sorry." She shrinks away, hoping for the questions to stop.
A dwarf with a canoe on his back? What could go wrong?
"We might need more than a day, we need to find the cog, somewhere in the portal modron." Singe says.
"We might not have more than a day. Depending on how fast a ship can be here. We cannot risk Lera's life to search for a cog. Why is it important? I thought we beat that thing?" Woe snips.
"I imagine a ship would be on the shore now if it were dispatched shortly after we left," Grasalfan says.
"But there is more than one island in Lantan, no? Does anyone in Chult possibly know exactly where we went??" Woe asks pointedly.
Singe looks to Barry and Barry screaches and flies up.
"Well, I..." Grasalfan coughs, "I had to tell the harbormaster..."
"That settles it. We're not safe here." Woe looks expectantly to Singe to find out what Barry is seeing.
"Harbormaster Zindar was very considerate of us when we met him, however, that was before we killed a man and helped the murderer escape." Singe says, "No offense Lera."
“We are not killing the military. Singe do you think you could talk them out of killing us. Maybe a trial would be best.” Perrin says.
"Oh yes, a trial would probably be the outcome but I know little about the law in Port Nyanzaru. If it's like Baldur's Gate, we're not going to get away with it. At the minimum I can see Lera being charged with manslaughter and spending... five years in prison? As accomplices, we'd either get heavily fined or jailed ourselves."
"I'm not going back to prison, whatever it takes." Shanolia mutters coldly.
"What’s are other option? Run away,” Perrin states.
"Yes actually, but that would mean we would never be able to return to Chult and we would also have a bounty on our heads, making it very hard to do reputable business elsewhere." Singe frowns, then smiles slightly, "Zamar, Woe, and I could probably make a pretty good legal team. We would just need the time... and the books... and to talk to Viscardi."
"Can Barry see if they are here?" Perrin asks Singe.
"Barry might be divine, but he's still a bird. Give him a moment." Singe says.
"Singe, I do think there might be another option. But first we need to find out who crossed us! Then we can argue against them. Right now, we're the offenders and there is not much to say for our side. If the Merchant Prince is involved, or Lord Turcassan, and they are doing shady business, we will have a much stronger case." Then she adds: "I suggest, run now - and then fight, when we're actually prepared!"
"Well, if they appear I can attempt to put them to sleep with magic to stall but based on how many their are and how far away they are we might just have to leave and then fight them in the court.” Perrin says.
"In a murder trial, the easiest way to not get convicted is if we were acting in self defense." Singe says, working through his own mental process out loud. "We weren't. We were acting in the protection of Polly."
"No one tried to forcibly remover her from us. So murder was not an 'appropriate' reaction. At least before a court." Woe adds.
"None of us are legal guardians of Polly so have no more claim on her well-being then any other person, including Captain Segred. In effect, we could also be charged guilty of kidnapping." Woe nods her head while Singe is explaining their situation, "Lera could still be charged with murder of Captain Segred. We would be considered accomplices."
"But... but I wasn't kidnapped!" Polly runs out from behind Dapple, addressing everyone. "I ran away! I'll tell them that!"
"You ran away on to a ship." Singe explains patiently, "The captain was then legally responsible for you. Then, in the eyes of the law, you went with legal strangers on to deserted island. Your volition does not matter to Baldur's Gate. This is all based on Baldurian law. Port Nyanzaru might treat this differently."
“Grasalfan do you know anything Chultan laws?” Perrin asks.
“So what if you all say that something happened to me?” Lera worries her bottom lip. “I’m the problem here, and while you all could be considered ‘accomplices’, they’re really after me. So, if I’m not around, would the problem go away?”
"We could disguise you if anyone has a kit, say you took off..." Shanolia rubs her chin through her mask. "Cut and dye your hair when we get back? Name change might- Actually that would take a lot of work. Anyone have an idea that isn't so stupid?"
"I also can do it magically! It’s not that stupid,” Lera lashs out. “What’s stupid is you all being wanted on an entire continent because I lost my temper."
"I am already wanted. On the entire continent, I might add. What's a bit more gold? It's you all I'm worried about. Specifically, Polly." Shanolia says.
"But... this all happened because of me!" Polly looks at everyone wildly. "I can fix this... can't I?"
“I don’t know Polly. Laws and everything is complicated. I don’t think it’s you coming with us is that is the problem. But it’s the murder of the Captain.” Perrin tried to explain.
"No, you can’t. What’s done is done, now it’s all about intent.” Singe sighs, "I don’t think any individual will be a problem, we will all be charged."
"But he died because of me!" Polly looks on the verge of tears. "I messed up! I want to fix it! Please, let me talk to them?"
"If they come or we go to Chult, you may make your case along with ours." Singe freezes, his face contorts from quiet worry to anguish.
"What do you see? What is it?" Woe asks.
"They’re here." Singe whispers.
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"Oh, bloody hell. What now?" Shanolia says
"We need to leave." Woe says
“Of, course they are,” Perrin says. “Decisions made now. Go back or Run away into the underground or into the aircraft.”
"If we run or go under, our only way home is still here in the open. Do we really have a choice?" Shanolia says
Singe snaps to attention, “The Memory is about a mile off the coast of the island. Six small boats are on the shore of the beach.” “We go.” Singe says matter-of-factly, “The farther we run the harsher the punishment.”
"I can fix this! I'll just tell them what happened." With this being said, Polly turned and started walking toward the beach.
"Plentyn, wait. We go together." Shanolia says
"You want to WALK to the beach??? No way. I don't know the underground, so I vote flying machine. We still don't know who is involved, who has betrayed who. This is not the time to talk!" Woe says
“Yes, I do. Because the more threatening we are the worse the punishment!” Singe says.
"How about we stay here, let them come to us? We're not running, not fighting, simply remaining where we have the upper hand. And we don't leave our only mode of transport unattended." Shanolia says
"Singe, how many people? And are they the crew of the memory? Or law enforcement? Woe says
“Why does it matter?” Singe snaps, “We will not be fighting them.”
"You want them to take us in handcuffs to Chult? To take us to court? We have nothing to defend ourselves!" Woe says
Polly huffs and begins walking again.
"Polly, please. Just wait one moment while we figure this out." Shanolia says
“It’s better than running!” Singe says.
"Yes, it matters, I met the crew, I could maybe argue with them. Maybe offer them drony's treasure. Police or military won't just give up!" Woe says
Polly pauses once again, arms crossed over her chest, sending glances toward the beach.
"No, no it's not!" Woe screams
"On the ship, I grabbed a handful of gems and crystals. Perhaps we could talk it out?" Shanolia says
Singe looks at Woe with pure anger, “I will not be chased by another lord!”
"You'll rot in his prison for the next 10 years! Now tell me, how many men and what do they look like! I am not going to attack, but I really don't want them to take u, prisoner" Woe says
“How do we know that? And frankly, it’s better than the cockroaches!” Singe’s hair spins and dances, his hands light.
"Both of you, shut the hell up and think rationally! We've no time for petty bickering, they'll likely be on us in an hour, we need to be ready!" Shanolia says
Woe turns to Grasalfan: "you're our employer. What do you think is best?"
"Break open the modron and run?" Grasalfan offers. "The flying machine will make it to Baldur's Gate. I know it will! Let your Lord smooth things over with Chult... doing anything more might just make it worse."
Singe extinguishes his hands and mutters, “This is a terrible idea.”
"Lord Viscardi is our employer and is ultimately responsible for our actions. I vote we let him figure this out." Shanolia says
"How long do you need in there, Grasalfan?" Woe says
“I can make myself invisible,” Lera suggested. “Just tell them I perished in the fight.”
"If you're not here, they'll take out their anger on us. But yes, it might take the initial brunt off. But Grasalfan has spoken. About half of us should help him, the others need to get the flying machine ready." Woe says
"I think I can make a hole within the hour," he responds to Woe. "With help, we could pop it open much quicker!"
“Tymora hope that’s enough time.” Singe rubs his hands together. “Woe and I will help, anyone else?”
"I'd be no help out here, I'll help. Polly, do you want to help us?" Shanolia says
"Yes, please," Polly said, turning back to the group. "I just want to fix my mistake."
"Your time will come, Plentyn. For now, let us focus on staying alive and free." Shanolia says
“If you’re breaking something open let me help. I’ve been dying to break that thing since I first saw it.” Perrin says walking to the portal Modron room and helping break it open.
The Scarlet Dawn, heeding the wise gnome's superior wisdom, begin disassembling the Portal Modron piece by piece. It's a gamble, as they don't know how long the crew of The Memory has been travelling in the jungle. It's a group effort, even Polly seems to be tearing through the machine, but it isn't until Koll rips open a hatch that everyone sees what is inside. Blackened with some sort of rot, a modron sits in the center. It looks like a giant worm with a single mouth that is complete with lips. The modron slowly, painfully, turns its attention to those gazing in the hole, it's various eyes in different shapes of wear and degradation. Above it is a tarnished and cracked cog, the size of Lera's hand.
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Nothing happens. The creature raises an eyeball and watches, then closes the eye as if the strain was too much. Lera now has the cog. Grasalfan stands with an open pouch, excitedly hopping from one leg to the other. "See? Told you guys, nothing would happen," Lera held the cog out to Grasalfan. "I didn't touch the cog the first time." Grasalfan slips it into the pouch and cinches it tight. "Lets go!" He calls out.
"Lets" Perrin says, He'll be the last to enter the aircraft making sure all his friends are inside first.
Woe takes the same seat in the flying machine, joined by Koll, while Shanolia quickly finds her seat in the flying machine from before, pulling her legs back and making room for Grasalfan and Perrin to get to the cockpit.
Zamar joins them in the flying machine and straps in, and Lera hops into her old seat, looks at her father, then straps in. Singe looks at Barry, Barry swoops into the trees and caws. Singe climbs aboard, checking that he has all of his arcane foci.
Dapple climbs in with the others, taking a place in the rear of the machine. As they load up, he watches out the open hatch for signs of the pursuers they know are on their way. As Dapple gets comfortable, Polly finds her way to him, crawls into his lap, and snuggles in for the flight.
As everyone piles in to the flying machine, Grasalfan pulls himself over to the cockpit. "Everyone ready??" He asks. Without waiting for an answer, he raises the rear hatch and ignites the engines, the wings expanding as he does. The flying machine slowly raises, leaving scorch marks on the earth below. There's slight turbulence as the machine breaks through the canopy above, but once it does he hits the lever to push the flying machine forward at top speed.
Whooooooosh - The sound is deafening to those in the quiet jungle. The group following the tracks to the Modron Tower hear and see the flying machine as it passes overhead. All heads raised, one of them speaks up. "Ain't that the piss?" He says in his heavy Chultaan accent, "It looks like ya missed em."
"Better 'n we did," another responds. "It'd prolly have ended in bloodshed even with their friend here..."
Mr Whistler turns to scan the crew of The Memory, his bird-eyes blinking in frustration. A darkness seems to spread from him as he says in his odd voice, "I will be confiscating your ship now..."
Travel on the flying machine is exhausting. It's cramped, stinky, and has no suitable place to relieve oneself. Each person takes turns standing and pacing in the middle section to keep their blood flowing. It isn't until deep into the second day that Grasalfan calls, "Land ho!! Do we land??" He asks. Turning to the Scarlet Dawn and seeing their expressions, he begins to descend to a clearing on the outskirt of a forest.
The ocean pelts the rocks along this massive cliff, the forest trees merely a few hundred feet away. From above, the forest stretched as far as you could see, but it seems as though Grasalfan plans on staying as close to shore from here-on-out in case any malfunctions occur. The engines are steaming and are scalding hot to the touch, but everyone is happy to stretch their legs and get some fresh air.
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Woe gets out of the ship. "So, let's spend the night here?" This has been a torture and reminded her very much of her days in prison. She walks along the cliff to stretch her legs. There she makes a promise to herself. No matter what will come of this adventure, I promise, I am not going back to prison. I will fight for my life. She looks back at the sorry figures surrounding the flying machine. And I will happily give my life for these guys. They have become friends. Good friends. If only sometimes they could hold their attacks. Then she smiles to herself. She was once young. And there most certainly was no shortage of trouble...
After a while she sits down and looks out over the sea while the sun starts to sink. It's not going to be boring, that's for sure... Then she smiles again to herself.
Koll is able to deal with the hardship of being in cramped conditions for hours upon hours on end. He is not so sure about some of the others and thinks an extended stop to camp here would be a good idea. They have certainly put some space between them and their pursuers, and could use a chance to breathe fresh air. Nevertheless, others seem to be quite eager to get back to Baldur's Gate. He feels that however Polly is doing is what will decide what they do.
"Polly, what say you?" he asks the little girl. "Do we camp or keep flying?"
Polly is looking out at the ocean, in no particular direction. The waves crash across the cliffs sending some spray up occasionally. "I like it here!" Polly responds, "It's beautiful."
As soon as the door opens, Dapple escapes for the freedom of the open beach. Stretching and breathing deeply of the fresh air, he says nothing for several minutes as he paces and works out the kinks. Finally, with a sigh, he returns to the group clustered about Grasalfan's flying machine. "Are we far enough ahead that we can spend a night here," he asked aloud in response to Woe's suggestion. "I think we could all use a break from being crammed inside there, but not if we risk being caught while we are here."
Perrin goes up to Polly before saying “Hey Polly. Do you want to continue to Baldurs Gate or do you want to spend the night here and continue in the morning?”
Polly looked at the ocean a moment more then turned away. "I think I want to go home now, please."
“Okay. How about we eat a little first? Give everyone some time to stretch their legs.” Perrin says with a smile.
Polly nods. "We can stay for a while. I like it here. Nothing is trying to kill us!"
Zamar says, “You realize things are often trying to kill adventurers, right?”
“Yeah. I like that too. Why don’t we go tell the others and then let’s see if Dapple can get us something fresh for tonight.” Perrin says and then gives a slight glare at Zamar for his comment before saying “That doesn’t mean we like it.”
Overhearing Perrin's comment, Dapple is quick to agree that some fresh food would be wonderful. He disappears into the forest, returning after about 30 minutes with a small brace of rabbits. Offering it up for a meal, he shrugs his shoulders. "It's not as much as I would have liked to have, given our numbers, but I didn't want to be gone too long either. I thought you might get worried and wander off looking for me."
Singe stretches, "We're staying the night?" Seeing a general consensus, Singe nods and walks towards the cliff and begins to practice arcane gestures.
Shanolia stretches her arms and back before stepping from the airship and walking around for a bit. Seeing the rabbits that Dapple brings back half an hour later, she returns to the inside of the ship to grab some rations from her pack and eat those, to ensure that there's more food for everyone else. When she finishes eating, she sets her pack on the seat and stretches out, using the seat as a bed and her pack as a pillow while she naps.
“I’ll get started on cooking these up and we should probably set up a watch. I’ll take the first watch since I can’t see very well when it gets too dark.” Perrin says to the group and then turns to Polly “Do you want to help me cook? You can ask me any questions about being an adventure or divine powers while we do. I’m sure you have some and I’m sure Lera told you what you are.” Perrin says with a smile.
"Sure!" Polly says, walking over to Perrin. She stands up taller as if comparing sizes. "Why are halflings so short?" She asks.
“I don’t know really. It’s just what the Gods wanted. Besides; shorter things are cuter.” Perrin says with a smirk.
"I have god magic," Polly responds. "Maybe I can make you taller."
“Maybe you can but I’d prefer if you didn’t. I quite like my height actually.” Perrin says proudly
Polly continues to help Perrin with dinner but loses interest quickly when they start to skin the rabbits and chop off their feet. She looks over at Mr. Bun., eyes wide.
“Don’t worry Polly. We’ll never eat Mr. Bun. He’s a special creature. I’ve never seen a bunny quite like him.” Perrin says
"I'm going to make sure Mr. Bun doesn't see," she comments, heading over to play with the Almiraj.
Perrin lets out a happy sigh and then finishes making dinner.
After tending to the flying machine, Grasalfan starts to set up his tent.