“Good idea, Roy. We have some time for a quick look while the others play with the helm. Do you know anything about beholders? Not that I am looking to run into one. Let’s follow this tunnel past the access shaft first.” He tightens he equipment and heads off with the others down the corridor, throwing a grin back to Rel “Give a holler if you need us, Cap’n”
(We already know the two chambers where we were dropped off and the galley, we will head to the right of the top access shaft first to make sure the others are not surprised by anything coming that way. Also open to Roy and Xavier making any changes)
"The only thing I know about running into beholders is if at all possible.... don't. Unfortunately, I don't think we have that luxury on this ship." Roy thinks for a moment, "Seeing as they are not creatures of chaos, if we do run into one, maybe we can reason with it and convince it that teaming up, or at least not fighting each other, would be more beneficial for it."
Zaius chuckles at Roy’s advice “Don’t run into them, I will try to keep that in mind. With any luck, this rock has been long abandoned by them.” As they enter the chamber, he pokes around the skulls and bones. “Looks like they were prisoners or slaves of the beholders, or maybe some kind of exhibits for a zoo. Not much left here.” He ignores the bones and rotted armor, but will look into the crates and chests to see if they still held something of value. Perception: 5.
Looking closely around the chamber, Zaius doesn't see any signs that the creatures were ever kept here while alive. In fact the way the skulls are mounted on the wall reminds you of the way a certain class of inn will display game animal heads: hunting trophies. Most of the contents of the crates and chests were either taken when the beholders abandoned the ship, or deteriorated over time into uselessness, but you do find an intact horn [as in the instrument you blow] made out of a hollowed out bone, which feels magical somehow when you pick it up.
[Someone could use the identify to determine that the horn is a Horn of Silent Alarm, or someone could spend an hour with it to identify it, which you have plenty of time to do while the other group is building the ladder; your choice whether you do that now or after checking the rest of the deck.]
Zaius turns the bone horn over in his hands briefly “Well, this wasn’t a wasted trip after all, there is something about this horn.” He puts the horn in his pack for now and after one last look around the room, turns to leave. “This area is clear, let's follow the tunnel down past the galley and see if we find anything else.” Zaius leads the group back the direction they came, moving to explore the other end of the hallway.
(Zaius will wait until after they clear out the cargo deck before studying the horn further, unless one of the others wants to stop to study it.)
As Zauis, Roy and Xavier head back through the galley, which is staring to take shape already, Pffred gives a friendly wave, Krik'Lit a curt nod, and Miken doesn't look up from where he's setting up the portable cooking surfaces. Continuing toward the other end of the deck, you're stopped by the next access shaft, which falls away across the whole width of the corridor, effectively forming a ten-foot wide pit in the ground.
[Meanwhile,] Rel, Erma, Gloix and Veena have settled into a rhythm and are making good progress. Erma leads the way, hammering pitons into the side of the access shaft; Rel follows, attaching the rope and knotting it to form the ladder. Gloix hangs above them, two hands belaying his companions' lines while a third hands down a constant supply of pitons to Erma. Bringing up the rear, Veena feeds the spool of rope to Rel, and makes occasional climbs back to the top to refill waterskins and so on.
Zaius eyes the ten foot wide opening cutting across the corridor. “Aye, I can make it across, but I am not keen on being over there by myself. Can you guys make it? Do you think it is worth pushing on?” He looks across the pit, trying to determine if there is a place to tie off a rope and make a hasty rope bridge to help the others cross. Perception: 21.
.
(Zaius can clear 13 feet with a 10 foot running start.)
"You read my mind, was going to suggest tossing you a rope once you were over there to bridge the hole." Roy digs into his pack and retrieves some pitons, "We can anchor the rope with these"
”Good idea, that.” Zaius nods as Roy pulls the pitons out of his pack. “We’ll have you two over in a jiff.” Zaius backs up ten feet and takes a running start toward the pit, leaping over it and landing on the other side. He takes the rope thrown by Roy and works to secure it on the far side to help Roy and Xavier across. Finished, he stands and looks down the corridor for any sign of threats as the others cross. Perception: Unable to parse dice roll..
Zaius easily clears the shaft, and with a few moments of rope work, the others make it across as well. Zaius peers down the corridor, but apart from the faint sounds of the others setting up the galley behind you, the ship stays almost spookily still and quiet., and you continue on cautiously to the chamber ahead.
The most obvious feature of this chamber is that one side of it [the 'south' side on the map] has been fenced off. It looks like some sort of livestock pen, but there are also remains of what seem to have been straw mattresses of roughly humanoid size. Aside from that, and some old crates and barrels that may have one held food or other perishable supplies, there are a half dozen or so rusty chains hanging from the ceiling, with attachment clips at varying intervals that look like they could have been used to hold smallish items.
“What do you think those held?” Zaius points up toward the chains hanging from the ceiling, then pokes around the straw beds and abandoned crates, looking for anything of use or any clues of the purpose of the room. “Looks like some sort of sleeping area, but why were they fenced off? Prisoners? Let’s get out of this place, it gives me the creeps.”
Perception: 22.
He finishes looking through the room, then moves down the corridor to check the final access shaft. If the shaft is normal, he returns back to the others working on the rope ladder in the north access shaft.
Zaius doesn't find anything in the chamber and heads back to assist the others. With everyone helping you have no trouble completing the ladder to the command deck.
[At this point I need to be fairly clear where everyone is. Do you bring the helm down immediately on finishing the ladder, or will you explore the command deck first? Are you all on the command deck, or did anyone stay on the cargo deck? If you proceed down the corridor, who's in the lead (presumably carrying the lantern), who's bringing up the rear, etc. Feel free to decide where Veena is as well.]
"Excellent work, team! Let's have Zaius and Xavier lead the way to the command deck, and the rest of us will follow. If nothing is amiss, Gloix, Erma and Veena will return to retrieve the spelljamming helm and bring it to Command. Have I overlooked anything?" asks Rel.
"It's a good plan. Let us stick together and then we'll get the helm in place once we are sure it's safe.. or safe as can be." Gloix agrees to Rel's stated plan with a nod of his head and voice in their minds.
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Erma will set to work. She knows her way around with these tools.
"The only thing I know about running into beholders is if at all possible.... don't. Unfortunately, I don't think we have that luxury on this ship." Roy thinks for a moment, "Seeing as they are not creatures of chaos, if we do run into one, maybe we can reason with it and convince it that teaming up, or at least not fighting each other, would be more beneficial for it."
Oriovar - Wood Elf Cleric (1) - Sword Coast Campaign
Roy Quigley - Human Artificer (1) - Karrion's Spelljammer Academy Starboard
Gloix will assist however he can to make a way down the shaft. He isn't much for muscle but can probably braid some rope
Zaius chuckles at Roy’s advice “Don’t run into them, I will try to keep that in mind. With any luck, this rock has been long abandoned by them.” As they enter the chamber, he pokes around the skulls and bones. “Looks like they were prisoners or slaves of the beholders, or maybe some kind of exhibits for a zoo. Not much left here.” He ignores the bones and rotted armor, but will look into the crates and chests to see if they still held something of value. Perception: 5.
.
Looking closely around the chamber, Zaius doesn't see any signs that the creatures were ever kept here while alive. In fact the way the skulls are mounted on the wall reminds you of the way a certain class of inn will display game animal heads: hunting trophies. Most of the contents of the crates and chests were either taken when the beholders abandoned the ship, or deteriorated over time into uselessness, but you do find an intact horn [as in the instrument you blow] made out of a hollowed out bone, which feels magical somehow when you pick it up.
[Someone could use the identify to determine that the horn is a Horn of Silent Alarm, or someone could spend an hour with it to identify it, which you have plenty of time to do while the other group is building the ladder; your choice whether you do that now or after checking the rest of the deck.]
Zaius turns the bone horn over in his hands briefly “Well, this wasn’t a wasted trip after all, there is something about this horn.” He puts the horn in his pack for now and after one last look around the room, turns to leave. “This area is clear, let's follow the tunnel down past the galley and see if we find anything else.” Zaius leads the group back the direction they came, moving to explore the other end of the hallway.
(Zaius will wait until after they clear out the cargo deck before studying the horn further, unless one of the others wants to stop to study it.)
As Zauis, Roy and Xavier head back through the galley, which is staring to take shape already, Pffred gives a friendly wave, Krik'Lit a curt nod, and Miken doesn't look up from where he's setting up the portable cooking surfaces. Continuing toward the other end of the deck, you're stopped by the next access shaft, which falls away across the whole width of the corridor, effectively forming a ten-foot wide pit in the ground.
[Meanwhile,] Rel, Erma, Gloix and Veena have settled into a rhythm and are making good progress. Erma leads the way, hammering pitons into the side of the access shaft; Rel follows, attaching the rope and knotting it to form the ladder. Gloix hangs above them, two hands belaying his companions' lines while a third hands down a constant supply of pitons to Erma. Bringing up the rear, Veena feeds the spool of rope to Rel, and makes occasional climbs back to the top to refill waterskins and so on.
Gloix idly wonders if chitin can get rope burn as he belays the lines and hands things down.
As Rel works, he chatters about various random thoughts in his brain:
"We should come up with a name for our group..."
"What does Thri-Keen music sound like?..."
"This ship needs a name, too, something ominous and pirate-y..."
"What's the best way to fight beholders and their kin?..."
Erma answers to the last one, "Running."
Roy looks at Zaius, “You think you can make it over the hole?”
Oriovar - Wood Elf Cleric (1) - Sword Coast Campaign
Roy Quigley - Human Artificer (1) - Karrion's Spelljammer Academy Starboard
Zaius eyes the ten foot wide opening cutting across the corridor. “Aye, I can make it across, but I am not keen on being over there by myself. Can you guys make it? Do you think it is worth pushing on?” He looks across the pit, trying to determine if there is a place to tie off a rope and make a hasty rope bridge to help the others cross. Perception: 21.
.
(Zaius can clear 13 feet with a 10 foot running start.)
"You read my mind, was going to suggest tossing you a rope once you were over there to bridge the hole." Roy digs into his pack and retrieves some pitons, "We can anchor the rope with these"
Oriovar - Wood Elf Cleric (1) - Sword Coast Campaign
Roy Quigley - Human Artificer (1) - Karrion's Spelljammer Academy Starboard
”Good idea, that.” Zaius nods as Roy pulls the pitons out of his pack. “We’ll have you two over in a jiff.” Zaius backs up ten feet and takes a running start toward the pit, leaping over it and landing on the other side. He takes the rope thrown by Roy and works to secure it on the far side to help Roy and Xavier across. Finished, he stands and looks down the corridor for any sign of threats as the others cross. Perception: Unable to parse dice roll..
.
Zaius easily clears the shaft, and with a few moments of rope work, the others make it across as well. Zaius peers down the corridor, but apart from the faint sounds of the others setting up the galley behind you, the ship stays almost spookily still and quiet., and you continue on cautiously to the chamber ahead.
The most obvious feature of this chamber is that one side of it [the 'south' side on the map] has been fenced off. It looks like some sort of livestock pen, but there are also remains of what seem to have been straw mattresses of roughly humanoid size. Aside from that, and some old crates and barrels that may have one held food or other perishable supplies, there are a half dozen or so rusty chains hanging from the ceiling, with attachment clips at varying intervals that look like they could have been used to hold smallish items.
“What do you think those held?” Zaius points up toward the chains hanging from the ceiling, then pokes around the straw beds and abandoned crates, looking for anything of use or any clues of the purpose of the room. “Looks like some sort of sleeping area, but why were they fenced off? Prisoners? Let’s get out of this place, it gives me the creeps.”
Perception: 22.
He finishes looking through the room, then moves down the corridor to check the final access shaft. If the shaft is normal, he returns back to the others working on the rope ladder in the north access shaft.
Zaius doesn't find anything in the chamber and heads back to assist the others. With everyone helping you have no trouble completing the ladder to the command deck.
[At this point I need to be fairly clear where everyone is. Do you bring the helm down immediately on finishing the ladder, or will you explore the command deck first? Are you all on the command deck, or did anyone stay on the cargo deck? If you proceed down the corridor, who's in the lead (presumably carrying the lantern), who's bringing up the rear, etc. Feel free to decide where Veena is as well.]
Erma would vote for going one step at the time - exploring, building ladders, exploring further, etc.
"Excellent work, team! Let's have Zaius and Xavier lead the way to the command deck, and the rest of us will follow. If nothing is amiss, Gloix, Erma and Veena will return to retrieve the spelljamming helm and bring it to Command. Have I overlooked anything?" asks Rel.
"It's a good plan. Let us stick together and then we'll get the helm in place once we are sure it's safe.. or safe as can be." Gloix agrees to Rel's stated plan with a nod of his head and voice in their minds.