Marlin's divination spell reveals an aura of abjuration magic about the potion, a crimson liquid that regularly pulses with dull light. For the cloak, transmutation magic emanates strongly from it.
Via the party's collective knowledge of the arcane, the five of you determine the items to be a potion of vitality and a cloak of the bat.
Korba let's someone else handle the loot for now, and after thinking about what they've found, says, "If this is a weapon, we need to fear not only those who will come to look for it, if it is truly lost, but also those who think they can control it. And a weapon of the Hells will corrupt anything around it, which explains the water." the last word said with a bit of a shudder. "We should get to the island as soon as possible to find our friend, as well as the sailors, if they have survived." He then summons the desert suns again to light the cabin, and says as he begins to walk, "There was one room to check though on our way out." ((I believe we missed room 4))
800 / 5 = 160 each and 6 gems each with two remaining. do you want to RP splitting it up or can we just assume it all happens?
I'll be glad to leave this Tyr-forsaken vessel behind, Gwin says with a wrinkle of her nose. Although I have no doubt what awaits us is far worse. You know what they say out of the frying pan, into the mire. Let us away to the Faranak and not delay this nasty business any longer.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
‘The hardest thing in this world is to live in it.’ - Buffy Summers
(Moving the story along, but if the party wishes to do anything else while aboard the drow trireme, we can backfill as needed)
Upon returning to the Faranak, the five of you are greeted by Pike, who's pleased to learn that any threats aboard the trireme have been eliminated. Motioning toward the island, the captain says, "My two sailors have just left the shore together. Walkin' inland for some god-forsaken purpose. Whattya make of it?"
Taking a look through the spyglass, you're able to confirm the actions of the two crewmen. Slowly--and stumbling now and then as they do so--the pair seem to be walking toward the center of the square island. The dense fog prevents you from seeing any potential destination, however.
Metalhead, as if sensing something amiss, flaps its wings and rises 30' into the air while pointing at the island. "One bad boss. Two friend death."
“It’s very unlikely that those two are in their right minds after spending so much time in that ‘water’,”Korba says looking ashore, adding, “We should make haste. Shall we fly across?”
"Flight seems to be the best option," says Marlin. "I can take everyone, if needed, though spreading out the resource expenditure would be preferred, if anyone would like to volunteer their spellcraft."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"Ignorance is bliss, and you look absolutely miserable."
"I can give flight to any three of us for a short time," Korba says. And if the team is agreed, he first will reach into his backpack for a small rod that appears to have suffered for years under the sun and wind, and gripping it for a moment seems to gain a small bit of strength from it. He then places his hand on two companions who feel a sudden dryness in their throats and skin as they simultaneously feel the ability to move in all 3 directions.
warlock spell slots mean i cast it at 5th level regardless, so 3 people. you can use your slot for 2 more to get us all there. the rod is the pact keeper, I'm using it to regain a spell slot (which is immediately used to cast fly), since it seems unlikely we'll have time for a short rest before landing on the island and being in the thick of it.
Korba and Marlin grant the entire party the ability to fly from the Faranak to the strange, square landmass. Metalhead flaps along erratically, determined to remain close to Korba the Good Boss. The entire aerial journey takes less than a minute, but in that brief span of time, the five of you gather significant information (albeit bizarre) about the island:
The silty black water continues uninterrupted to the island's edge. From your aerial perspective, you have the impression that the water is perhaps magically creating a barrier between the island and the Sword Sea. Is the barrier there to protect the island from the seawater? Or vice versa? You cannot tell.
The island seems to rise vertically out of the depths like a plateau, giving no indication that it's floating. Its edges are short cliffs that rise out of the water, but all of you can discern that these are not normal cliffs. Where the dark water laps against the cliff, an irregularity appears in the stone: seemingly rectangular terraces break down into something that reminds you of the roots of mangrove trees or coral. As you draw nearer, however, you see that the "roots" are actually an uncountable number of closely-stacked humanoid bodies that are piled over one another as they disappear in the black depths. You would think that the bodies would fall away from the sheer cliff and plunge into the sea, but, inexplicably, they do not.
The ground upon which you land is difficult to describe. It appears to be composed of cubes (yes, cubes) of dirt or stone, but these cubes don't feel like dirt or stone when stepped upon. Some feel rather sharp, as if they might pierce your boot if you fail to step cautiously. Some crack noisily and crumble into smaller cubes when you step upon them. And, worst of all, some give way to your weight as if you were stepping upon piles of fruit or vegetables. No matter what the ground looks like, you cannot with any certainty guess what it will actually feel like when you step upon it.
The terrain of the island is highly irregular. Cubes of a hundred different sizes seem to be thrown together randomly, creating a surreal, inscrutable landscape.
The fog layer is roughly 100' thick and has a red tinge in some places. No direct sunlight falls anywhere on the island's surface. You have no doubt that the fog is supernatural in nature.
Upon landing, you see no evidence of footsteps left by the two sailors. The mysterious cube formations (that simply break up into smaller cube formations) make it impossible to find a trail. You do know, however, that they seemed to be headed toward the island's center.
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
All players, please make one CON save, one CHA save, and one DEX save in your next post (be sure to add the +5 from Rogi's aura to each roll). Additionally, make two separate 1d6 rolls.
The yellow dot indicates the party's location (and where the two crewman were last seen). NOTE: The island's surface counts as difficult terrain. We can assume that the fly spells are in effect for 9 more minutes.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Korba, too, stays afloat at first, watching the others land. Though of course eventually will step down. As they first arrive in the fog, Korba again lights his sword, curious to see if it will have any effect on the mist directly around him, or if the fog, in turn, will affect the light that is normally produced by his sword.
Looking back at Metalhead, he says, “Glad you joined Metalhead. Not afraid of the big bad boss here?” He then looks to the others and asks, “Shall we try one of those scrolls to try to get a direction? Or just head in and see what we find first?”
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Normally Gwin would be grateful to have her feet back on solid ground; dwarves aren't particularly fond of swimming or flying. But as the cleric alights on the island's crunchy terrain she's not all too relieved to have landed.
The cleric narrows her eyes at the fog and fastens her cloak about her face so that her nose and mouth are covered. Gwin tries to recall anything in her studies that describes a similar phenomenon.
Arcana: 12
(Update: I'd edited my post for grammar but it also rerolled my check. I haven't had that happen before when updating the text. My original roll was a 24. Sorry about that.)
The supernatural origin of the fog seems evident to everyone, but Gwinfeels a bit of unease about those denser, red areas within the fog. Her years as a cleric have afforded her much research and many encounters with the undead, and she can't shake the feeling that the fog overhead is harboring vampiric mists. The height of the fog layer (100' or so) makes it impossible to determine just how much undead mist there might be lurking overhead...
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Dabbert fidgets for a moment, still not entirely used to the odd cloak he'd found. Still, he liked the thing. Made him feel like some dark knight or something.
"I uh...dunno..." He says, letting his answer trail off when Korba asks if they should use one of the scrolls. "I hate to use them too soon...but then they're useless if we don't use them so...beats me."
He scratches his chin after giving his non-answer and follows Gwin's searching eyes up to the canopy of fog clouds overhead, wondering what she's looking at, then, keeping his halberd ready, he begins to slowly walk inland, in the direction the sailors had gone. He knows there's no signs of the passing sailors, and he can see plainly that it'd be impossible to discern a trail in this terrain. Still...he tries. He looks around for something. Anything. Dropped trash. Marks etched to mark their passing. Columns of smoke, as if he could possibly see them in the gloom and fog.
Perception Check-
25
Passive Perception 20
He decides to fly, still not used to the spell but doing so anyway while it lasts and so that he doesn't have to grip his cloak to do so. He raises above the ground by only inches, wishing to keep low, and slowly moves forward...
"Metalhead?" Dab says, looking for the modrone that had accompanied them. "Any uh...ideas? Little help here?"
Gwin shares her discernment of the vampiric mist with her companions. Nodding at Dab’s comment regarding the spell scrolls she produces one from her cloak.
As treacherous as I anticipate this path to be I believe the wisest course of action is to see if we can at least determine where our wayward wizard might be.
As the cleric holds out the scroll in the palm of her hand, invisible fingers begin to unfurl it. Once unfurled inky hues begin to illuminate on the scroll’s surface until a relief map of the cube island appears.
Kivari, Kivari, where can you be? Kivari, Kivari, reveal yourself to me.
Looking at Dabbert, Metalhead points to the ground and says, "Big bad boss near."
Gwin unfurls one of the spell scrolls provided by the diviner and proceeds to use its divination magic to determine the location of Kivari's ioun stones. The spell indicates that the stones are directly beneath the location where the party currently stands...
With Metalhead tagging along, the party members continue their flight toward the center of the island. Within two minutes you reach a location that is noticeably different from the surrounding terrain. Roughly circular and approximately 20' in diameter, a metal hatch of some sort is set into the ground. This metal door, however, is not smooth, for like the terrain of the island itself, it seems to be made of thousands of conjoined little blocks rather than one seamless piece of iron. At the four cardinal points around this hatch are four mosaic-like areas roughly 1' in diameter. The mosaics are made entirely of little squares and seem to convey no understandable picture or message.
There is no sign of the two crewman from the Faranak, but the island's irregular topography could easily be obscuring your view of them. Flight to a higher altitude won't be helpful, for doing do would merely serve to place you within the thick layer of fog that hovers over the island.
Marlin's divination spell reveals an aura of abjuration magic about the potion, a crimson liquid that regularly pulses with dull light. For the cloak, transmutation magic emanates strongly from it.
Via the party's collective knowledge of the arcane, the five of you determine the items to be a potion of vitality and a cloak of the bat.
Korba let's someone else handle the loot for now, and after thinking about what they've found, says, "If this is a weapon, we need to fear not only those who will come to look for it, if it is truly lost, but also those who think they can control it. And a weapon of the Hells will corrupt anything around it, which explains the water." the last word said with a bit of a shudder. "We should get to the island as soon as possible to find our friend, as well as the sailors, if they have survived." He then summons the desert suns again to light the cabin, and says as he begins to walk, "There was one room to check though on our way out." ((I believe we missed room 4))
800 / 5 = 160 each
and 6 gems each with two remaining. do you want to RP splitting it up or can we just assume it all happens?
PbP 🎲: Tyekanik; Moneo Noree; Korba Muris; & occasional DM:
The rooms in the forecastle prove to be meager quarters for the remainder of the drow crew; nothing of interest is discovered there.
I'll be glad to leave this Tyr-forsaken vessel behind, Gwin says with a wrinkle of her nose. Although I have no doubt what awaits us is far worse. You know what they say out of the frying pan, into the mire. Let us away to the Faranak and not delay this nasty business any longer.
‘The hardest thing in this world is to live in it.’ - Buffy Summers
(Moving the story along, but if the party wishes to do anything else while aboard the drow trireme, we can backfill as needed)
Upon returning to the Faranak, the five of you are greeted by Pike, who's pleased to learn that any threats aboard the trireme have been eliminated. Motioning toward the island, the captain says, "My two sailors have just left the shore together. Walkin' inland for some god-forsaken purpose. Whattya make of it?"
Taking a look through the spyglass, you're able to confirm the actions of the two crewmen. Slowly--and stumbling now and then as they do so--the pair seem to be walking toward the center of the square island. The dense fog prevents you from seeing any potential destination, however.
Metalhead, as if sensing something amiss, flaps its wings and rises 30' into the air while pointing at the island. "One bad boss. Two friend death."
“It’s very unlikely that those two are in their right minds after spending so much time in that ‘water’,” Korba says looking ashore, adding, “We should make haste. Shall we fly across?”
PbP 🎲: Tyekanik; Moneo Noree; Korba Muris; & occasional DM:
"Flight seems to be the best option," says Marlin. "I can take everyone, if needed, though spreading out the resource expenditure would be preferred, if anyone would like to volunteer their spellcraft."
"Ignorance is bliss, and you look absolutely miserable."
"I can give flight to any three of us for a short time," Korba says. And if the team is agreed, he first will reach into his backpack for a small rod that appears to have suffered for years under the sun and wind, and gripping it for a moment seems to gain a small bit of strength from it. He then places his hand on two companions who feel a sudden dryness in their throats and skin as they simultaneously feel the ability to move in all 3 directions.
warlock spell slots mean i cast it at 5th level regardless, so 3 people. you can use your slot for 2 more to get us all there.
the rod is the pact keeper, I'm using it to regain a spell slot (which is immediately used to cast fly), since it seems unlikely we'll have time for a short rest before landing on the island and being in the thick of it.
PbP 🎲: Tyekanik; Moneo Noree; Korba Muris; & occasional DM:
Korba and Marlin grant the entire party the ability to fly from the Faranak to the strange, square landmass. Metalhead flaps along erratically, determined to remain close to Korba the Good Boss. The entire aerial journey takes less than a minute, but in that brief span of time, the five of you gather significant information (albeit bizarre) about the island:
Upon landing, you see no evidence of footsteps left by the two sailors. The mysterious cube formations (that simply break up into smaller cube formations) make it impossible to find a trail. You do know, however, that they seemed to be headed toward the island's center.
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
All players, please make one CON save, one CHA save, and one DEX save in your next post (be sure to add the +5 from Rogi's aura to each roll). Additionally, make two separate 1d6 rolls.
The yellow dot indicates the party's location (and where the two crewman were last seen). NOTE: The island's surface counts as difficult terrain. We can assume that the fly spells are in effect for 9 more minutes.
Rogi Con save 26
CHA save 34
DEX save 27
1d6 rolls: 5 and 1
Con: 19
Cha: 26
Dex: 10
1d6 rolls: 5 6
(If it helps, Marlin will not be actually setting foot on the island, and will instead stay flying.)
"Ignorance is bliss, and you look absolutely miserable."
Korba, too, stays afloat at first, watching the others land. Though of course eventually will step down. As they first arrive in the fog, Korba again lights his sword, curious to see if it will have any effect on the mist directly around him, or if the fog, in turn, will affect the light that is normally produced by his sword.
Looking back at Metalhead, he says, “Glad you joined Metalhead. Not afraid of the big bad boss here?” He then looks to the others and asks, “Shall we try one of those scrolls to try to get a direction? Or just head in and see what we find first?”
Saves (incl +5) — CON: 14; CHA 31; DEX 25
d6s — 2 ; 2
PbP 🎲: Tyekanik; Moneo Noree; Korba Muris; & occasional DM:
Dabbert follows, watching the ground around them as they sail inland through the fog, looking for the missing sailors as he goes.
Con Save
26
Cha Save
10
Wis Save
12
First D6
2
Second D6
5
DM of AURYN: The Measure of Devotion - Escape from New York
(OOC: Sorry, thought that was supposed to be a Wis Save. Take that 4 for Dex haha)
DM of AURYN: The Measure of Devotion - Escape from New York
Rolls for Gwin: CON 21 | CHA 30 | DEX 14 | 2 | 4
(Assuming the party will be working its way toward the center of the island in pursuit of the two crew members, but will wait for confirmation...)
Normally Gwin would be grateful to have her feet back on solid ground; dwarves aren't particularly fond of swimming or flying. But as the cleric alights on the island's crunchy terrain she's not all too relieved to have landed.
The cleric narrows her eyes at the fog and fastens her cloak about her face so that her nose and mouth are covered. Gwin tries to recall anything in her studies that describes a similar phenomenon.
Arcana: 12
(Update: I'd edited my post for grammar but it also rerolled my check. I haven't had that happen before when updating the text. My original roll was a 24. Sorry about that.)
‘The hardest thing in this world is to live in it.’ - Buffy Summers
(I did see the original Arcana 24 roll)
The supernatural origin of the fog seems evident to everyone, but Gwin feels a bit of unease about those denser, red areas within the fog. Her years as a cleric have afforded her much research and many encounters with the undead, and she can't shake the feeling that the fog overhead is harboring vampiric mists. The height of the fog layer (100' or so) makes it impossible to determine just how much undead mist there might be lurking overhead...
Dabbert fidgets for a moment, still not entirely used to the odd cloak he'd found. Still, he liked the thing. Made him feel like some dark knight or something.
"I uh...dunno..." He says, letting his answer trail off when Korba asks if they should use one of the scrolls. "I hate to use them too soon...but then they're useless if we don't use them so...beats me."
He scratches his chin after giving his non-answer and follows Gwin's searching eyes up to the canopy of fog clouds overhead, wondering what she's looking at, then, keeping his halberd ready, he begins to slowly walk inland, in the direction the sailors had gone. He knows there's no signs of the passing sailors, and he can see plainly that it'd be impossible to discern a trail in this terrain. Still...he tries. He looks around for something. Anything. Dropped trash. Marks etched to mark their passing. Columns of smoke, as if he could possibly see them in the gloom and fog.
Perception Check-
25
Passive Perception 20
He decides to fly, still not used to the spell but doing so anyway while it lasts and so that he doesn't have to grip his cloak to do so. He raises above the ground by only inches, wishing to keep low, and slowly moves forward...
"Metalhead?" Dab says, looking for the modrone that had accompanied them. "Any uh...ideas? Little help here?"
DM of AURYN: The Measure of Devotion - Escape from New York
Gwin shares her discernment of the vampiric mist with her companions. Nodding at Dab’s comment regarding the spell scrolls she produces one from her cloak.
As treacherous as I anticipate this path to be I believe the wisest course of action is to see if we can at least determine where our wayward wizard might be.
As the cleric holds out the scroll in the palm of her hand, invisible fingers begin to unfurl it. Once unfurled inky hues begin to illuminate on the scroll’s surface until a relief map of the cube island appears.
Kivari, Kivari, where can you be? Kivari, Kivari, reveal yourself to me.
‘The hardest thing in this world is to live in it.’ - Buffy Summers
Looking at Dabbert, Metalhead points to the ground and says, "Big bad boss near."
Gwin unfurls one of the spell scrolls provided by the diviner and proceeds to use its divination magic to determine the location of Kivari's ioun stones. The spell indicates that the stones are directly beneath the location where the party currently stands...
With Metalhead tagging along, the party members continue their flight toward the center of the island. Within two minutes you reach a location that is noticeably different from the surrounding terrain. Roughly circular and approximately 20' in diameter, a metal hatch of some sort is set into the ground. This metal door, however, is not smooth, for like the terrain of the island itself, it seems to be made of thousands of conjoined little blocks rather than one seamless piece of iron. At the four cardinal points around this hatch are four mosaic-like areas roughly 1' in diameter. The mosaics are made entirely of little squares and seem to convey no understandable picture or message.
There is no sign of the two crewman from the Faranak, but the island's irregular topography could easily be obscuring your view of them. Flight to a higher altitude won't be helpful, for doing do would merely serve to place you within the thick layer of fog that hovers over the island.