Apart from that, in her free time she will chat with her companions and the crew, trying to get to know them and their history better... and she will stay on the deck to enjoy the feeling of freedom of the immensity of the sea and the salty air on her face.
If Khessa talks to Syllen when she is on the deck she will find that he is more or less an open book. He will answer any questions asked of him. If asked about himself the summary is; he was raised by two parents that one would guess are wizards. When he talks about his parents he seems to have been traumatized by the idea of needing to create a spell book. He talks about leaving as soon as he was old enough to explore the world. Other than meeting members of The Old Faith and joining them for several years he mainly explored the wilderness. He is not the biggest fan of the formalities of being in a civilized society and it seems as if he was following the planets and stars randomly for the past 100 years.
In addition to spending time studying with Khessa, he will also practice with his staff on deck, sparring with anyone who seems interested. And will make small talk with the Dwarven crew.
Syllen seems extremely excited that Theldin wants to spar with others. He will definitely take a break from working on his spell scroll or talking about himself to spar with Theldin.
Khessa, reaching the ship immediately to sleep on board, hoped to find Theldrin too... but she discovers that he probably has a more comfortable accommodation.
The blonde arcane warrior then, among the equipment available, takes for herself an Antitoxi, a Potion of Healing and a Sack, then she heads to the Guest Quarters to lie down to sleep. She does not expect any problems, but to be safe she makes Anator appear again, so that he can keep watch while she sleeps - and of course he knows well that in case of problems or something suspicious he must warn her telepathically, waking her up.
When Theldrin arrives, she approaches him smiling: "You know, you seem so knowledgeable about magic... Would you like to study a little together and... compare spellbooks? I would certainly be the one who would benefit the most from such a sharing of knowledge... but who knows? You too could find some fragments of arcane knowledge to add to your repertoire".
Theldrin beams as he replies enthusiastically, "Yes, of course... I would very much like that indeed."
In addition to spending time studying with Khessa, he will also practice with his staff on deck, sparring with anyone who seems interested. And will make small talk with the Dwarven crew.
Avery can work with Theldin in sparring and martial skills with his staff, showing him some fighting techniques he learned as a Cavalier
Avery will fish, seeing what he can catch to supplement their meals. Take in the sea air, after he finds his sea legs. Mostly he will spend time building rapport with the company, sharing stories and boasting matches with his fellow comrades. He wants to build trust with the new members of the company.
During the 'joint studies', Theldrin discovers from the form and nature of the notes taken in the spellbook that Khessa has a curious and quick mind, but also has obvious gaps in various basic knowledge - due to the fact that she has never had the opportunity to enjoy a formal education.
Khessa indeed talks both to Syllen and Avery. She is puzzled by the fact that the elf was so... spellbook-traumatized but she tries to play it down: "Oh, well... I stole my spellbook initially..." and winks, with a bittersweet smile "Maybe if you want you can get inspired and do the same!"
She will also occasionally try to do a bit of sparring with Avery, to improve her technique with weapons - this too, like hers, is the result of determination, intelligence and experience, but not of formal training...
If someone asks her about her past, she has no problem telling her story... [[ OOC: But in the next post, for I have no time right now ]]
Coriana spends her time in several ways. First priority, of course, is getting underfoot of the crew and kibitzing and commenting on their sailing methods. She will do this like a compulsion even after the captain specifically tells her to stop. She will also try to get a dice game going, using it as a way to judge her companions and any crew members who join. She also will spend time at the prow of the ship, breathing in the salt air.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Coriana - Company of the Grey Chain Wagner - Dragon Heist: Bards. DM - The Old Keep
Theldrin is thrilled as he finds Feather Fall in Khessa's spellbook. "Ah! I almost bought a scroll for that, to try to transfer it into my spellbook," he says with a grin. For now he will take the time and expend the resources procured at the Unearthed Arcana, to copy:
Feather Fall Witch Bolt Expeditious Retreat
His current spell list from his spellbook, available to Khessa:
Fire Bolt Light Mage Hand Shocking Grasp Color Spray Detect Magic Find Familiar Identify Mage Armor Magic Missile Shield Sleep Thunderwave Aganazzar's Scorcher Blindness/Deafness Scorching Ray Web
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Theldrin obviously enjoys getting some sparring in with both Syllen and Avery, and will continue to banter with the Dwarven crew and get to know the new party members. He shares that he studied quarterstaff technique as part of his training under the the archmage Elrenstad in the city of Ekbir. His mood turns somber as he describes how he returned to his home of Gradsul in Keoland unexpectedly when Elrenstad suddenly fell ill and passed away, but he quickly shakes it off and changes the subject.
After watching for a bit, he joins in the dice game. (OOC: Just rolling a straight D20 here for fun to gauge how he does).
Xanrym thought that after staying up all night / tavern-hopping with Coriana, he would just stay on deck until the ship made it to Nyr Dyv and then go below to get some sleep. Instead, he immediately finds that being below deck makes him quite ill. Unaccustomed to the movement of a ship, he spends most of the first day leaning over the side of the ship and looking miserable. Thankfully, he had packed away his fancy clothes in a locked trunk before boarding the ship.
After the first day on the ship when he was both sleep-deprived and feeling nauseated, Xanrym sleeps well. He finally finds his sea legs on the second day of sailing and can spend more time with the others. He does not speak Dwarvish, but he casts Comprehend Languages as a ritual multiple times so that he can understand the sailors as they talk to one another and go about their work. He asks Coriana questions throughout the journey, trying to ensure that he understands the many strange words and phrases that sailors use. He sometimes takes notes for future reference.
If there's sparring, Xanrym joins so that he can get used to wielding a spear or hand-axe instead of a sword. Thankfully, True Strike lends him some magical insight because he doesn't seem inclined to spend the time needed to master the use of his weapons. Without the help of magic, he finds the weapons quite unwieldy compared to a simple dagger.
Xanrym checks on Heckle repeatedly to ensure that the horse is doing well, but Heckle is a sturdy, sure-footed animal and seems to adjust to the ship more quickly that Xanrym did!
Whenever the whole group is together, Xanrym is happy to share his well-practiced tales recounting the adventures of the Company of the Grey Chain in and around Orlane. His voice is mellifluous and expressive, and he certainly tells a good tale! Xanrym's stories often depict him sneaking quietly ahead of the group, and -- indeed! -- it's easy to lose track of Xanrym in his cloak, even when he's sitting on the open deck of the ship.
When Xanrym gets to the stories about the fights in the naga cult's lair, it would lead naturally to some discussion of combat tactics:
Xanrym prefers to hang back with Theldrin, if possible, and use his crossbow or spells from a distance, shouting suggestions to his friends.
The importance of warriors, like Avery and Khessa, in keeping the "melee line" together so that opponents cannot get past them to attack Theldrin and Xanrym.
Focusing ranged attacks on a single opponent at a time to reduce the number of enemies that the melee fighters are facing.
"Scattering" when facing an opponent, like the harpy or the naga or the cult's necromancer, to make it harder for the spellcaster to catch the whole group with a single spell.
Xanrym can boost his companions' success through his words (Bardic Inspiration and Unsettling Words) and empowering magic, but he often generally prefers to conserve his magic to use in healing or dealing with situations outside of combat.
After having seen the cultist Misha use Silence to conceal the cult's attack on their inn, Xanrym had some success at using that spell to prevent the evil cleric, Garath, from casting spells at the party.
Xanrym is also fond of illusions, explaining some clever uses of Minor Illusion during the party's previous adventures. He points out to Theldrin that during his time in the Great Library of Greyhawk, he learned to make even more complex illusions, including Invisibility.
Other than that, Xanrym is quite happy to spend much of the journey reading quietly to himself when he's not otherwise needed. He likes to lose himself in a story or a poem, and he finds quiet time by himself to be restorative.
Also, if anyone missed Aubrek's answer about his financial situation, Xanrym repeats what Aubrek told him. He says, "We must return with the chest, or we'll certainly receive nothing from Aubrek. I'd certainly rather see Aubrek rich and happy to do us a favor than poor and blaming us for his ruin."
After watching for a bit, he joins in the dice game. (OOC: Just rolling a straight D20 here for fun to gauge how he does).
19
Having seen the type of folks Coriana parties with, Xanrym decides to avoid playing dice with her. He doesn't see the appeal in betting on pure chance. He'd rather risk his life on a well thought out plan to kill a harpy than risk a few coppers on the throw of dice.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
(Such rich and flavorful roleplaying. I almost just want you all to keep telling me about the party's time on the boat! Of course the story must go on.)
Wolgar and his crew get used to the antics, people sparring on deck and playing dice. The wizard Theldrin seems to be surprisingly good at both. While Wolgar grumbles a bit at your ingratiation with his crew, you soon realize it's all for show. He likes your group and this job.
In the early hours of the third morning on the boat, you all wake to strange noises scraping from outside the boat. The sound of creatures climbing up onto the ship.
(At this point I'll remind you that amour takes a little while to put on. Those of you in Heavy Armour will take 10 minutes to don it I think.)
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
19 dice.
Coriana wakes, hears something trying to climb aboard, slides out of bed in a simple shirt and the pants she slept in. She forgoes putting on armor and climbs to the deck, a curved, black bladed sword with an artfully filigreed basket hilt forming out of black vapor in her right hand.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Coriana - Company of the Grey Chain Wagner - Dragon Heist: Bards. DM - The Old Keep
(At this point I'll remind you that amour takes a little while to put on. Those of you in Heavy Armour will take 10 minutes to don it I think.)
(OOC: Oh, I always assume that Xanrym sleeps in his armor when he's "on an adventure" because there's no downside to sleeping in light armor. If that's not correct, I guess Xanrym will start putting on his armor since it only takes a minute -- unless everyone else immediately goes up on deck. If they do, then he'll skip his armor too.)
In the early hours of the third morning on the boat, you all wake to strange noises scraping from outside the boat. The sound of creatures climbing up onto the ship.
Xanrym has a disturbing dream where he is lying in a little rowboat in the naga's subterranean lake, staring up at the dark earthen roof of the cavern, rocking peacefully back and forth on the water. He realizes with a cold fear that he's hearing more than the lapping sound of the water against the boat. Scraping sounds. It reminds him of the clawed feet of the troglodytes, and he sits up with a start! Only to fiind that only to find that he's in a hammock in their cabin on the Soul of Winter.
Xanrym's relief at seeing that he's not in the naga's lair evaporates once he sees that his companions are also sitting up. Then he realizes that he still hears the scraping noises from his dream! He hops quietly out of his hammock and whispers, "Pirates?", as he quickly puts on his belts (with the pouches, daggers, and hand-axes), grabs his crossbow and bolts, and slings his backpack over his shoulders. He's ready to go in moments, but now he wishes that he had spoken to Wolgar more about what to do in case of an attack on the ship. He suggests, "Should we see what it is first? Or just raise the alarm and flood the deck with Light?"
"It is a good thing that knowledge, when shared, does not diminish, but increases!" Khessa smiles, happy that the 'real' wizard has found something useful in her Spellbook "As expected, I too, it seems, will benefit from this magical-cultural exchange..."
The blonde arcane warrior copies Sleep in her Spellbook.
To those who ask about her past, the tall adventuress takes the time to tell...
I am the first born within a humble but happy family of cabbage farmers, in a small hamlet. And, if it had been up to me, I would probably have continued forever with that life of hard work, but of genuine and simple satisfactions!
Twardens was a tiny village, not far from the banks of the Nyr Dyv. It was nothing more than about five farms built not too far from each other on the top of a small, low, lone hill. "Twardens" is the contracted form of the original, longer name: "Two Wardens". The village was so named after the two big sequoia plants that looked like they were two guards keeping watch at the sides of the village... but it could have been also so named after the size of its militia: a member for each of the five farms was designed to be a guard (where "guard" here means "a person with no armor, wielding a club or a pitchfork to drive away the occasional foxes or wolves coming too near the farms"). And that was all. No palisade or defense also... because almost nothing really worth robbing: we were poor hard-working farmers, nothing more than that. What should marauders ever come to rob? Salad? Cabbages? But then, that hellish spring night that changed it all, we got our terrible, unexpected answer to that question.
Spring had just come. It had been a day like many others. A day of work in the fields, planting cabbages. A day of sweat. But also of exchanged words, of pats on the back, of occasional laughter. A good day. Then the sun went to bed slowly under the horizont. I also did, but much later: I went before with some other boys and girls under one of the tall sequoia at a side of the village. We stayed together for a few hours, sharing some apples, some jokes and some laughing. I remember marveling at the stars and how bright they looked that night. I was wondering if it was possible to compose shapes by joining their shiny dots. But no one else seemed to care particularly. Once at home, I went to the chaos of the big chamber where I used to sleep with my brothers and sisters and fell quickly asleep to the song of an owl. I woke up shortly after, at the crashing of our house's door. I did not understand what was happening. I did not understand what the shrill cries that occasionally rose in the background were. I was heading to the door, with most of the family. My brother Rethos, a quick-thinking 13 years old child, opened the room's window to allow some moonlight inside, but was promptly greeted by a hit with the hilt of a weapon that knocked him unconscious. Enraged by that, I turned to do something, but the attacker quickly jumped inside, barely visible with his black skin, his short sword and chain shirt shining threateningly. He was smaller and lighter than a man, but blatantly far deadlier than any man I had seen before. His moves were the ones of a predator. While we were still half-sleeping cattle. It was the first time I met a drow. He looked like a hell's demon to me. I'd rather have never met one! Another one entered the window. One of the other farms was already burning behind them. They said something. But we did not understand their tongue. I quickly exited the room's door. But I stopped as quickly. I saw it was all hopeless. From the bashed door of our house, other three drow had already come in, armored, with blades and crossbows ready. And a female drow also, with a monstrous helm resembling the head of a spider. Behind her, the shrine to Berei was in flames. "By decree of Lolth, from now on you are our property" she stated in common tongue, cold and careless. She did not expect anything other than immediate obedience, I think. It would have been useless to resist. It was obvious to all. But not to my brother Anator. He was a bold and determined 18 years old boy. Maybe he was more used to acting than to thinking. Maybe he remembered he was one of the guards, in theory, so, even unskilled and unequipped, he felt urged to fight. We will never know. He did not hesitate a moment to do what I knew was utterly foolish: he grasped a kitchen knife and went to attack! Time started to flow painfully slow. I remember each istant. The first bolt that took him in a leg. The second in the raised arm. His surprised eyes. He staggering, fighting the drow poison that was coating the bolts. But a big drow with a greatsword decided not to wait for the poison to do the work for them. Maybe he wanted to teach us a lesson. Maybe he was plainly bloodthirsty. Whatever the reason, he pushed his long blade through my brother's belly... and turned it, to be even more sure to cause a horrible and deadly wound. My brother fell in a quickly expanding lake of his blood. My mother Eshta cried. My father Tobar clenched his teeth; he was so strong… but at the same time so helpless, in this situation! My brother died with a last, horrible spasm. I started pinching myself, hoping to wake up from the nightmare. Then the drow female spoke again in her cold voice: "You'd better not try anything like that anymore. I'd hate to ruin more merchandise". I did not know what to do anymore. I was not even able to say something to Yassa and Larrya, my younger sisters, to comfort them. I did not believe what was happening. It HAD to be a nightmare! And it was. But a REAL one. No hope to ever wake up. Bond with the other surviving villagers, I was forced to leave our homes in flames. In the furthest farm, someone woke up early enough, thanks to a dog barking, to barricade inside and try to resist. But that proven also useless. As soon as one of the raiders succeeded in bashing the shutters of a window, a robed drow approached. He pulled out with skill and dexterity something from his bag, chanting an arcane formula and gesturing in an almost hypnotic way... and all opposition ceased suddenly. Most of the defenders had fallen asleep. "What did you do, monster!" yelled the last boy standing, throwing a butcher cleaver at him. It has been a lucky shot; a shot that SHOULD have landed. But the robed drow gestured quickly, whispering another spell, and the weapon bounced against an invisible barrier, falling harmlessly to the ground. The boy tried then to flee, but a crossbow bolt hit him in the back. He collapsed from drow poison and was taken back. It was over. The drow took all they wanted. We did not have too much.... but it was US that they wanted above all else. And what they did not take, they burned, or ruined, or destroyed. "Why?" I heard myself ask. I didn't even know who I was asking. But the drow female was near me and answered disdainfully: "There is no 'why', weakling. We do not need a reason to take what we want or to do what we please". Then she gestured to a drow near me... that hit me hard with a sudden chainmail-clad fist to my left side. "And, by the way," continued her, while I was writhing in pain "you will NOT talk anymore, unless questioned." To my surprise, the iron glove of the drow hit suddenly again, as hard as before, on the other side. "Oh," said the drow female "hearing you grunt in pain, he must have thought you spoke again. He doesn't know your language, after all... Or maybe he likes to hit you" she speculated with a wicked smile. "So you better not give him a reason to do it!" Then we were all forced to follow our captors some miles, then inside a cave... into a seemingly endless darkness.
Down there, they did a lot of evil things to me and the others... Probably also for this reason, they soon became convinced that they had broken my spirit. They became less cautious. And I managed to surprise them. Zrutt, the one who had murdered Anator, my brother... after having mistreated me for the umpteenth time, allowed himself to collapse to sleep from exhaustion. I, who had already had the opportunity to weaken my bonds, managed to free myself. He never woke up again, killed by his own Greatsword - which is now mine. Wandering around the camp as if I were still a prisoner, I was able to surprise Zer'lan, their wizard. Who was able to see how difficult it is to cast spells when someone strong and desperate has tightened a rope around your neck to suffocate you. And so I got my Spellbook. Taking advantage of their overconfidence and the fact that they still believed me to be a prisoner, I managed to surprise Xen'farya, the very nice priestess of Lolth... and push her into a ravine. Honestly, I don't know if she survived or not, because at that point I was discovered. But thanks to the chaos generated by the temporary vacuum of power, I managed to escape, also freeing other slaves and taking them away with me. But not my family, unfortunately. They had kept them away from me. I was unable to search for them and free them.
I don't know how either, but I managed to find my way back to the surface, leading the prisoners to safety. They returned to their lives. But how could I have done the same, without my family? I have chosen instead to put to good use my newfound talents... to live free, as an adventurer... to satisfy the curiosity of the world that, after all, I always had... to also, when possible, help the defenseless...
Until, one day, of course, I return down there. I still have my family, to free (not to mention other unfortunate drow slaves). This is something I do not forget. And will never forget.
When in the early hours of the third morning on the boat, she wakes to strange noises scraping from outside the boat (the sound of creatures climbing up onto the ship), Khessa immediately sends Anator to check from above which and how many creatures they are (he will describe them to her telepathically).
The blonde arcane warrior meanwhile, realizing that she will not have time to put on her armor, quickly gathers her weapons and rushes towards the attackers, urging the others: "Quick! If we stop them before they can come aboard, we will have an advantage in the fight! They should not fight too well, while they climb..."
Unless Anator's report changes her mind, the tall adventuress wields her Pike, so that she can strike the enemies from 10' away.
He will answer any questions asked of him....He is not the biggest fan of the formalities of being in a civilized society and it seems as if he was following the planets and stars randomly for the past 100 years.
To those who ask about her past, the tall adventuress takes the time to tell...
Once Xanrym recovers from his seasickness, he is definitely interested in the stories of the Company's new companions. He's clearly fascinated by Khessa's story, but he's very careful not to ask too many questions. He doesn't want to seem too curious about such traumatic events when he barely knows Khessa. He leaves Theldrin and Khessa to their studies: if Khessa is a self-taught wizard, Xanrym picked up magic in an even more haphazard way. For example, after seeing Theldrin using Shield during their adventures together, Xanrym has worked out a way to cast the spell, even if he doesn't really understand the theory or anything behind it. Once he finally "figures out" a spell, he knows it. He is fascinated by magic, but his understanding of magic comes from old "stories" more than anything else.
Whenever Xanrym chats with Syllen, he tries to practice his Elvish and wants to hear Syllen tell about his own history in Elvish to see whether he can follow it. Xanrym is reasonably fluent in Elvish, but he has more practice reading and writing it. He has very little practice speaking with real elves, and he asks Syllen to help correct his pronunciation and grammar whenever he gets anything wrong.
(Just going to summarize a few things that Syllen would do for the two days. First morning he would finish a scroll of False Life that he would give to Khessa, she can copy it into her spell book or not but it is her's to keep. Also when everyone got on the ship together the first day he would have asked for the waters of Constha to protect them. It is one of the planets of Greyhawk. OOC I have the Inspiring Leader feat using wisdom 2024 rules :) just flavoring it as if it comes from his connection to space. So everyone gets 8 temp HP. He would do that every morning. He would also make a scroll of Cure Wounds. Lastly he takes 4 hours for a long rest and does not sleep so he does not remove his armor.)
As everyone wakes up Syllen would say the same words that the party has heard every morning and gives everyone 8 Temp HP
“May the waters of Constha guide us on this journey and protect us from the unknown.”
Theldrin wakes with a start, rolling out of his hammock and instinctively casting Mage Armor on himself as soon as he realizes there is potentially danger nearby. He will also send Dusk to scout ahead carefully, not getting too close to the sides of the ship but peeking out at the deck area from the top of the nearest ladder or steps .
Well then by a democratic vote, you're all gonna head up to the deck of the boat in a rush. As you run up to you hear the sounds of fighting on deck. As you come up to the Main Deck you witness quite a scene. Wolgar stands on the Quarterdeck above with his Greataxe drawn, yelling commands at his crew on the main deck, who are all fighting to stop some Pirahna looking people from climbing onto the deck. Coriana would recognize the Fiendish folk as Sahuagin, raiders of the sea. Behind Wolgar a gigantic Sahuagin is climbing onto the Quarterdeck, having scaled the entire side of the ship. You then hear a yell and look behind you to the Forecastle, where more Sahuagin have scaled onto the boat. One of these Syllen would recognize as a Druid of the Deep. Initiative:
Group 1: Avery, Coriana, Theldrin, and Xanrym
Group 2: Sahuagin Baron
Group 3: Syllen
Group 4: Wolgar and his crew
Group 5: Sahuagin and their Druid of the Deep
Group 5: Khessa
Group 1 is up. The Druid of the Deep is invading from the Forecastle, while the Dwarven sailors are trying but failing to keep the other Sahuagin off the ship. Wolgar is so busy shouting orders that he hasn't noticed the Sahuagin Baron behind him.
If Khessa talks to Syllen when she is on the deck she will find that he is more or less an open book. He will answer any questions asked of him. If asked about himself the summary is; he was raised by two parents that one would guess are wizards. When he talks about his parents he seems to have been traumatized by the idea of needing to create a spell book. He talks about leaving as soon as he was old enough to explore the world. Other than meeting members of The Old Faith and joining them for several years he mainly explored the wilderness. He is not the biggest fan of the formalities of being in a civilized society and it seems as if he was following the planets and stars randomly for the past 100 years.
Syllen seems extremely excited that Theldin wants to spar with others. He will definitely take a break from working on his spell scroll or talking about himself to spar with Theldin.
Avery can work with Theldin in sparring and martial skills with his staff, showing him some fighting techniques he learned as a Cavalier
Avery will fish, seeing what he can catch to supplement their meals. Take in the sea air, after he finds his sea legs. Mostly he will spend time building rapport with the company, sharing stories and boasting matches with his fellow comrades. He wants to build trust with the new members of the company.
During the 'joint studies', Theldrin discovers from the form and nature of the notes taken in the spellbook that Khessa has a curious and quick mind, but also has obvious gaps in various basic knowledge - due to the fact that she has never had the opportunity to enjoy a formal education.
The spells in her spellbook (which has a very particular cover, with silver decorations that resemble a spiderweb pattern) are however (all 1st level spells): Comprehend Languages, Detect Magic, Expeditious Retreat, Feather Fall, Find Familiar, Magic Missile, Protection from Evil and Good, Witch Bolt.
Khessa indeed talks both to Syllen and Avery. She is puzzled by the fact that the elf was so... spellbook-traumatized but she tries to play it down: "Oh, well... I stole my spellbook initially..." and winks, with a bittersweet smile "Maybe if you want you can get inspired and do the same!"
She will also occasionally try to do a bit of sparring with Avery, to improve her technique with weapons - this too, like hers, is the result of determination, intelligence and experience, but not of formal training...
If someone asks her about her past, she has no problem telling her story... [[ OOC: But in the next post, for I have no time right now ]]
Coriana spends her time in several ways. First priority, of course, is getting underfoot of the crew and kibitzing and commenting on their sailing methods. She will do this like a compulsion even after the captain specifically tells her to stop. She will also try to get a dice game going, using it as a way to judge her companions and any crew members who join. She also will spend time at the prow of the ship, breathing in the salt air.
Coriana - Company of the Grey Chain
Wagner - Dragon Heist: Bards.
DM - The Old Keep
Theldrin is thrilled as he finds Feather Fall in Khessa's spellbook. "Ah! I almost bought a scroll for that, to try to transfer it into my spellbook," he says with a grin. For now he will take the time and expend the resources procured at the Unearthed Arcana, to copy:
Feather Fall
Witch Bolt
Expeditious Retreat
His current spell list from his spellbook, available to Khessa:
Fire Bolt
Light
Mage Hand
Shocking Grasp
Color Spray
Detect Magic
Find Familiar
Identify
Mage Armor
Magic Missile
Shield
Sleep
Thunderwave
Aganazzar's Scorcher
Blindness/Deafness
Scorching Ray
Web
Theldrin obviously enjoys getting some sparring in with both Syllen and Avery, and will continue to banter with the Dwarven crew and get to know the new party members. He shares that he studied quarterstaff technique as part of his training under the the archmage Elrenstad in the city of Ekbir. His mood turns somber as he describes how he returned to his home of Gradsul in Keoland unexpectedly when Elrenstad suddenly fell ill and passed away, but he quickly shakes it off and changes the subject.
After watching for a bit, he joins in the dice game. (OOC: Just rolling a straight D20 here for fun to gauge how he does).
7
Xanrym thought that after staying up all night / tavern-hopping with Coriana, he would just stay on deck until the ship made it to Nyr Dyv and then go below to get some sleep. Instead, he immediately finds that being below deck makes him quite ill. Unaccustomed to the movement of a ship, he spends most of the first day leaning over the side of the ship and looking miserable. Thankfully, he had packed away his fancy clothes in a locked trunk before boarding the ship.
After the first day on the ship when he was both sleep-deprived and feeling nauseated, Xanrym sleeps well. He finally finds his sea legs on the second day of sailing and can spend more time with the others. He does not speak Dwarvish, but he casts Comprehend Languages as a ritual multiple times so that he can understand the sailors as they talk to one another and go about their work. He asks Coriana questions throughout the journey, trying to ensure that he understands the many strange words and phrases that sailors use. He sometimes takes notes for future reference.
If there's sparring, Xanrym joins so that he can get used to wielding a spear or hand-axe instead of a sword. Thankfully, True Strike lends him some magical insight because he doesn't seem inclined to spend the time needed to master the use of his weapons. Without the help of magic, he finds the weapons quite unwieldy compared to a simple dagger.
Xanrym checks on Heckle repeatedly to ensure that the horse is doing well, but Heckle is a sturdy, sure-footed animal and seems to adjust to the ship more quickly that Xanrym did!
Whenever the whole group is together, Xanrym is happy to share his well-practiced tales recounting the adventures of the Company of the Grey Chain in and around Orlane. His voice is mellifluous and expressive, and he certainly tells a good tale! Xanrym's stories often depict him sneaking quietly ahead of the group, and -- indeed! -- it's easy to lose track of Xanrym in his cloak, even when he's sitting on the open deck of the ship.
When Xanrym gets to the stories about the fights in the naga cult's lair, it would lead naturally to some discussion of combat tactics:
Other than that, Xanrym is quite happy to spend much of the journey reading quietly to himself when he's not otherwise needed. He likes to lose himself in a story or a poem, and he finds quiet time by himself to be restorative.
Also, if anyone missed Aubrek's answer about his financial situation, Xanrym repeats what Aubrek told him. He says, "We must return with the chest, or we'll certainly receive nothing from Aubrek. I'd certainly rather see Aubrek rich and happy to do us a favor than poor and blaming us for his ruin."
Having seen the type of folks Coriana parties with, Xanrym decides to avoid playing dice with her. He doesn't see the appeal in betting on pure chance. He'd rather risk his life on a well thought out plan to kill a harpy than risk a few coppers on the throw of dice.
(Such rich and flavorful roleplaying. I almost just want you all to keep telling me about the party's time on the boat! Of course the story must go on.)
Wolgar and his crew get used to the antics, people sparring on deck and playing dice. The wizard Theldrin seems to be surprisingly good at both. While Wolgar grumbles a bit at your ingratiation with his crew, you soon realize it's all for show. He likes your group and this job.
14
In the early hours of the third morning on the boat, you all wake to strange noises scraping from outside the boat. The sound of creatures climbing up onto the ship.
(At this point I'll remind you that amour takes a little while to put on. Those of you in Heavy Armour will take 10 minutes to don it I think.)
19 dice.
Coriana wakes, hears something trying to climb aboard, slides out of bed in a simple shirt and the pants she slept in. She forgoes putting on armor and climbs to the deck, a curved, black bladed sword with an artfully filigreed basket hilt forming out of black vapor in her right hand.
Coriana - Company of the Grey Chain
Wagner - Dragon Heist: Bards.
DM - The Old Keep
(OOC: Oh, I always assume that Xanrym sleeps in his armor when he's "on an adventure" because there's no downside to sleeping in light armor. If that's not correct, I guess Xanrym will start putting on his armor since it only takes a minute -- unless everyone else immediately goes up on deck. If they do, then he'll skip his armor too.)
Xanrym has a disturbing dream where he is lying in a little rowboat in the naga's subterranean lake, staring up at the dark earthen roof of the cavern, rocking peacefully back and forth on the water. He realizes with a cold fear that he's hearing more than the lapping sound of the water against the boat. Scraping sounds. It reminds him of the clawed feet of the troglodytes, and he sits up with a start! Only to fiind that only to find that he's in a hammock in their cabin on the Soul of Winter.
Xanrym's relief at seeing that he's not in the naga's lair evaporates once he sees that his companions are also sitting up. Then he realizes that he still hears the scraping noises from his dream! He hops quietly out of his hammock and whispers, "Pirates?", as he quickly puts on his belts (with the pouches, daggers, and hand-axes), grabs his crossbow and bolts, and slings his backpack over his shoulders. He's ready to go in moments, but now he wishes that he had spoken to Wolgar more about what to do in case of an attack on the ship. He suggests, "Should we see what it is first? Or just raise the alarm and flood the deck with Light?"
"It is a good thing that knowledge, when shared, does not diminish, but increases!" Khessa smiles, happy that the 'real' wizard has found something useful in her Spellbook "As expected, I too, it seems, will benefit from this magical-cultural exchange..."
The blonde arcane warrior copies Sleep in her Spellbook.
To those who ask about her past, the tall adventuress takes the time to tell...
I am the first born within a humble but happy family of cabbage farmers, in a small hamlet. And, if it had been up to me, I would probably have continued forever with that life of hard work, but of genuine and simple satisfactions!
Twardens was a tiny village, not far from the banks of the Nyr Dyv. It was nothing more than about five farms built not too far from each other on the top of a small, low, lone hill. "Twardens" is the contracted form of the original, longer name: "Two Wardens". The village was so named after the two big sequoia plants that looked like they were two guards keeping watch at the sides of the village... but it could have been also so named after the size of its militia: a member for each of the five farms was designed to be a guard (where "guard" here means "a person with no armor, wielding a club or a pitchfork to drive away the occasional foxes or wolves coming too near the farms"). And that was all. No palisade or defense also... because almost nothing really worth robbing: we were poor hard-working farmers, nothing more than that. What should marauders ever come to rob? Salad? Cabbages?
But then, that hellish spring night that changed it all, we got our terrible, unexpected answer to that question.
Spring had just come. It had been a day like many others. A day of work in the fields, planting cabbages. A day of sweat. But also of exchanged words, of pats on the back, of occasional laughter. A good day.
Then the sun went to bed slowly under the horizont. I also did, but much later: I went before with some other boys and girls under one of the tall sequoia at a side of the village. We stayed together for a few hours, sharing some apples, some jokes and some laughing. I remember marveling at the stars and how bright they looked that night. I was wondering if it was possible to compose shapes by joining their shiny dots. But no one else seemed to care particularly.
Once at home, I went to the chaos of the big chamber where I used to sleep with my brothers and sisters and fell quickly asleep to the song of an owl.
I woke up shortly after, at the crashing of our house's door. I did not understand what was happening. I did not understand what the shrill cries that occasionally rose in the background were. I was heading to the door, with most of the family. My brother Rethos, a quick-thinking 13 years old child, opened the room's window to allow some moonlight inside, but was promptly greeted by a hit with the hilt of a weapon that knocked him unconscious. Enraged by that, I turned to do something, but the attacker quickly jumped inside, barely visible with his black skin, his short sword and chain shirt shining threateningly. He was smaller and lighter than a man, but blatantly far deadlier than any man I had seen before. His moves were the ones of a predator. While we were still half-sleeping cattle. It was the first time I met a drow. He looked like a hell's demon to me. I'd rather have never met one! Another one entered the window. One of the other farms was already burning behind them. They said something. But we did not understand their tongue. I quickly exited the room's door. But I stopped as quickly. I saw it was all hopeless. From the bashed door of our house, other three drow had already come in, armored, with blades and crossbows ready. And a female drow also, with a monstrous helm resembling the head of a spider. Behind her, the shrine to Berei was in flames. "By decree of Lolth, from now on you are our property" she stated in common tongue, cold and careless. She did not expect anything other than immediate obedience, I think. It would have been useless to resist. It was obvious to all. But not to my brother Anator. He was a bold and determined 18 years old boy. Maybe he was more used to acting than to thinking. Maybe he remembered he was one of the guards, in theory, so, even unskilled and unequipped, he felt urged to fight. We will never know. He did not hesitate a moment to do what I knew was utterly foolish: he grasped a kitchen knife and went to attack! Time started to flow painfully slow. I remember each istant. The first bolt that took him in a leg. The second in the raised arm. His surprised eyes. He staggering, fighting the drow poison that was coating the bolts. But a big drow with a greatsword decided not to wait for the poison to do the work for them. Maybe he wanted to teach us a lesson. Maybe he was plainly bloodthirsty. Whatever the reason, he pushed his long blade through my brother's belly... and turned it, to be even more sure to cause a horrible and deadly wound. My brother fell in a quickly expanding lake of his blood. My mother Eshta cried. My father Tobar clenched his teeth; he was so strong… but at the same time so helpless, in this situation! My brother died with a last, horrible spasm. I started pinching myself, hoping to wake up from the nightmare. Then the drow female spoke again in her cold voice: "You'd better not try anything like that anymore. I'd hate to ruin more merchandise".
I did not know what to do anymore. I was not even able to say something to Yassa and Larrya, my younger sisters, to comfort them. I did not believe what was happening. It HAD to be a nightmare! And it was. But a REAL one. No hope to ever wake up. Bond with the other surviving villagers, I was forced to leave our homes in flames.
In the furthest farm, someone woke up early enough, thanks to a dog barking, to barricade inside and try to resist. But that proven also useless. As soon as one of the raiders succeeded in bashing the shutters of a window, a robed drow approached. He pulled out with skill and dexterity something from his bag, chanting an arcane formula and gesturing in an almost hypnotic way... and all opposition ceased suddenly. Most of the defenders had fallen asleep.
"What did you do, monster!" yelled the last boy standing, throwing a butcher cleaver at him. It has been a lucky shot; a shot that SHOULD have landed. But the robed drow gestured quickly, whispering another spell, and the weapon bounced against an invisible barrier, falling harmlessly to the ground. The boy tried then to flee, but a crossbow bolt hit him in the back. He collapsed from drow poison and was taken back. It was over.
The drow took all they wanted. We did not have too much.... but it was US that they wanted above all else. And what they did not take, they burned, or ruined, or destroyed.
"Why?" I heard myself ask. I didn't even know who I was asking.
But the drow female was near me and answered disdainfully: "There is no 'why', weakling. We do not need a reason to take what we want or to do what we please". Then she gestured to a drow near me... that hit me hard with a sudden chainmail-clad fist to my left side. "And, by the way," continued her, while I was writhing in pain "you will NOT talk anymore, unless questioned."
To my surprise, the iron glove of the drow hit suddenly again, as hard as before, on the other side.
"Oh," said the drow female "hearing you grunt in pain, he must have thought you spoke again. He doesn't know your language, after all... Or maybe he likes to hit you" she speculated with a wicked smile. "So you better not give him a reason to do it!"
Then we were all forced to follow our captors some miles, then inside a cave... into a seemingly endless darkness.
Down there, they did a lot of evil things to me and the others... Probably also for this reason, they soon became convinced that they had broken my spirit. They became less cautious. And I managed to surprise them. Zrutt, the one who had murdered Anator, my brother... after having mistreated me for the umpteenth time, allowed himself to collapse to sleep from exhaustion. I, who had already had the opportunity to weaken my bonds, managed to free myself. He never woke up again, killed by his own Greatsword - which is now mine. Wandering around the camp as if I were still a prisoner, I was able to surprise Zer'lan, their wizard. Who was able to see how difficult it is to cast spells when someone strong and desperate has tightened a rope around your neck to suffocate you. And so I got my Spellbook. Taking advantage of their overconfidence and the fact that they still believed me to be a prisoner, I managed to surprise Xen'farya, the very nice priestess of Lolth... and push her into a ravine. Honestly, I don't know if she survived or not, because at that point I was discovered. But thanks to the chaos generated by the temporary vacuum of power, I managed to escape, also freeing other slaves and taking them away with me. But not my family, unfortunately. They had kept them away from me. I was unable to search for them and free them.
I don't know how either, but I managed to find my way back to the surface, leading the prisoners to safety. They returned to their lives. But how could I have done the same, without my family? I have chosen instead to put to good use my newfound talents... to live free, as an adventurer... to satisfy the curiosity of the world that, after all, I always had... to also, when possible, help the defenseless...
Until, one day, of course, I return down there. I still have my family, to free (not to mention other unfortunate drow slaves). This is something I do not forget. And will never forget.
When in the early hours of the third morning on the boat, she wakes to strange noises scraping from outside the boat (the sound of creatures climbing up onto the ship), Khessa immediately sends Anator to check from above which and how many creatures they are (he will describe them to her telepathically).
The blonde arcane warrior meanwhile, realizing that she will not have time to put on her armor, quickly gathers her weapons and rushes towards the attackers, urging the others: "Quick! If we stop them before they can come aboard, we will have an advantage in the fight! They should not fight too well, while they climb..."
Unless Anator's report changes her mind, the tall adventuress wields her Pike, so that she can strike the enemies from 10' away.
Once Xanrym recovers from his seasickness, he is definitely interested in the stories of the Company's new companions. He's clearly fascinated by Khessa's story, but he's very careful not to ask too many questions. He doesn't want to seem too curious about such traumatic events when he barely knows Khessa. He leaves Theldrin and Khessa to their studies: if Khessa is a self-taught wizard, Xanrym picked up magic in an even more haphazard way. For example, after seeing Theldrin using Shield during their adventures together, Xanrym has worked out a way to cast the spell, even if he doesn't really understand the theory or anything behind it. Once he finally "figures out" a spell, he knows it. He is fascinated by magic, but his understanding of magic comes from old "stories" more than anything else.
Whenever Xanrym chats with Syllen, he tries to practice his Elvish and wants to hear Syllen tell about his own history in Elvish to see whether he can follow it. Xanrym is reasonably fluent in Elvish, but he has more practice reading and writing it. He has very little practice speaking with real elves, and he asks Syllen to help correct his pronunciation and grammar whenever he gets anything wrong.
(Just going to summarize a few things that Syllen would do for the two days. First morning he would finish a scroll of False Life that he would give to Khessa, she can copy it into her spell book or not but it is her's to keep. Also when everyone got on the ship together the first day he would have asked for the waters of Constha to protect them. It is one of the planets of Greyhawk. OOC I have the Inspiring Leader feat using wisdom 2024 rules :) just flavoring it as if it comes from his connection to space. So everyone gets 8 temp HP. He would do that every morning. He would also make a scroll of Cure Wounds. Lastly he takes 4 hours for a long rest and does not sleep so he does not remove his armor.)
As everyone wakes up Syllen would say the same words that the party has heard every morning and gives everyone 8 Temp HP
“May the waters of Constha guide us on this journey and protect us from the unknown.”
Theldrin wakes with a start, rolling out of his hammock and instinctively casting Mage Armor on himself as soon as he realizes there is potentially danger nearby. He will also send Dusk to scout ahead carefully, not getting too close to the sides of the ship but peeking out at the deck area from the top of the nearest ladder or steps .
Well then by a democratic vote, you're all gonna head up to the deck of the boat in a rush. As you run up to you hear the sounds of fighting on deck. As you come up to the Main Deck you witness quite a scene. Wolgar stands on the Quarterdeck above with his Greataxe drawn, yelling commands at his crew on the main deck, who are all fighting to stop some Pirahna looking people from climbing onto the deck. Coriana would recognize the Fiendish folk as Sahuagin, raiders of the sea. Behind Wolgar a gigantic Sahuagin is climbing onto the Quarterdeck, having scaled the entire side of the ship. You then hear a yell and look behind you to the Forecastle, where more Sahuagin have scaled onto the boat. One of these Syllen would recognize as a Druid of the Deep. Initiative:
Group 1: Avery, Coriana, Theldrin, and Xanrym
Group 2: Sahuagin Baron
Group 3: Syllen
Group 4: Wolgar and his crew
Group 5: Sahuagin and their Druid of the Deep
Group 5: Khessa
Group 1 is up. The Druid of the Deep is invading from the Forecastle, while the Dwarven sailors are trying but failing to keep the other Sahuagin off the ship. Wolgar is so busy shouting orders that he hasn't noticed the Sahuagin Baron behind him.