Sea of Death Campaign Thread

Emrys nodded to the messenger and followed towards the flagship. Towards the small journey he masked his silence as tension. In truth the halfling was trying to gauge as much information from the environment as he could – memorize the form of the ship, trying to gauge the number of man on the exact route to Hailstorm, commit to mind the distance and time to his chamber. So focused his was on those details that when Sayyida asked his opinion calling him boss, he didn’t notice she was taking to him and turned his head looking for the leading figure.

“Oh.” The warlock broke his silence noticing that the paladin was talking to him. “I think that since no one knows we are with the crew we can get in the surrounding area easily. Most, if not all of us have a way breath under water, some can do so without a time-limit. The questions turn to other points: are there any traps in the way for the lantern? Possible hostile creatures on the area, not counting the garrison of the fort, of course? What about this lantern? Can you give us a description? Does it have some kind of ward or ability that may harm us as we retrieve it? How much time do we have for the job? It would be good to have some days to scout the area, know the number of soldiers and how to best avoid them after the retrieval.”

The Captain spends a few minutes explaining the layout of the lair... yes, there are traps, and yes, there will likely be hostile creatures that have taken up residence. The entrance to the lair is hidden in a grotto, which can normally only be reached during low-tide, but since you have ways to navigate and breathe under water it should be (relatively) easily accessible for most of you.

As for the description of the lantern itself, he chuckles.

"I 'ave a feelin' you lot will know it when ye sees it," he says. "The lamp itself can do ye no harm... though the restless dead may not be much happy when it is taken. But I'm sure you lot can handle that..."

He pauses a moment, then adds.

"I been waitin' for ten years... methinks that another seven days will be quite enough time for you lot to get what I want from beneath the Admiral's nose. But I would greatly appreciate if ye can get it faster..."

A calculating look comes into Sae's eyes as the captain says this last.  "That's very interesting.  Just exactly how much more appreciative might we be talking here?  Considering that just by doing the thing at all we'd already be accomplishing for you what no one has been able to for the past ten years?  And it sounds like the sort of mission, too, where the more support  you can offer us, the better our chances of succeeding for you ..."

Persuasion 8

The Captain taps a finger on the desk for a few moments.

"Perhaps greateful enough that you could get your own vessel and crew if you succeed..." he says. "The one ye so kindly donated to our cause is in the process of bein' remodeled as we speak, and it could well be yours again if you impress me. As for support... I can provide those amongst ye who don't already have the power a potion of water breathing each. If ya'all feel the need for a bit more muscle then choose a crewman or two to join ye on this little excursion."

Sae grins.  "Aye, that's a good bit o' gratitude.  'Course, it's for the captain of that ship to give our final aye or nay on the offer ..."   She looks over at Emrys as she speaks.

“I’m not the captain of that ship, Sae. Not yet.” He said putting on his best smile. That was sure to make Hailstorm believe the prize interested him.  “Seven days should be more than enough to make sure we can get away from the restless dead without getting any soldier on our track. I would like to have ‘Naut and/or Yevelda with us, since we are already used to fighting by their side.” He continued putting a hand to his chin. “Captain, if I may, I would like to ask for one more reward. The fight with Bart made me realize something I would have never noticed as a merchant, that I enjoy testing fight strategies against strong opponents and during our welcome party I found that you, sir, bested the dragonborn in a duel. If it is alright, after completing our mission, I would like for our group to have a match, much like that of our trial, against you. Of course, this is not meant to be a challenge of your position.” Emrys was fast to add, trying to emulate worry and a tint of fear. “I merely realized that in this line of work every day can very much be the last and that because of that I should take any chance I have to find enjoyment. Our match doesn’t need an audience.”

Wade will take the Waterbreating potions. "This will serve us well."

Emrys can almost feel the Captain's smile under the mask.

"You 'ave a lot of balls, lad," he says. "I like that... but be wary that ye don't bite more than ye can chew. Still, it's been a spell since I had a good fight. If that is what ye desire, yer captain can deliver."

"It sounds like we might be coming to an arrangement.," Sae murmurs in her smoothest and most casual voice, fighting back the temptation to 'adjust her hair'.  She knew the futility of hoping that whatever power was manifesting  through the Captain would be careless enough to allow her to read his thoughts at this point.  "Still, I'm wonderin' a bit about this lamp you're sendin' us after.  Call it a bit of professional concern if ya will: it would help to know a bit more about its powers so's we don't do the wrong thing and draw attention to ourselves accidental-like without meaning to.  Or if it has other powers that would help us get it back to ya safe ... "

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Deception 11

Captain's Insight: 20

Sayyida watched the interplay, personally she would have said a few things a little later but she was not opposed to trying her hand now.

" Magic Lantern, fully manned fort, water breathing, undead, traps.........ok, lets go."

Quote from Mister_Whisker >>

Captain's Insight: 18

"Don't concern yerself with the powers the lamp has," the Captain says simply to Sae. "Just bring it back and I'll handle it from there."

Quote from Damian_May >>

Sayyida watched the interplay, personally she would have said a few things a little later but she was not opposed to trying her hand now.

" Magic Lantern, fully manned fort, water breathing, undead, traps.........ok, lets go."

 "Aye, now that be the spirit! Your Commander Richards will be deliverin' you to yer job soon as he be sobered up... you may want to tell the orc she's been recruited for yer little job... wouldn't want to surprise her when ye get there. As for the other one... they do be a bit preoccupied with one o' me personal projects, so I'm afraid they ain't going to be joinin' ye."

“I’m looking for a non-lethal combat and probably will ask for other fights of this kind, with other members of the crew even, provided we survive work. Who knows, it may end up as a training for everyone.” He answered the captain with a merchant’s smile. “Just to confirm, the lamp does not have any power that we may accidently trigger, revealing our location while we try to avoid detection or straight up blowing us to smithereens, right?”

Emrys let the question sit in the air before turning towards Sayyida. A nod of his head indicating total agreement with her words. Truth be told he didn’t like the idea of giving Hailstorm what was very clearly a powerful magic item, but at that point there was no other choice. I hope nothing goes wrong with ‘Naut. If nothing else, the fact that the hydrozoan was working on one of Hailstorm’s project meant they would face no more danger that what their task demanded.

“We will warn Yevelda and wait for Richard’s sobering.” He said with genuine excitement. This work carried genuine reward for him and the party – the chance to fight their target, maybe even with lighter protection. Hells, if things went even mildly well there wouldn’t be a single innocent life lost.

Areleo loses interest and begins to leave.

The Captain confirms that the lamp will not kill you as soon as you touch it. If you have no more questions for him, he'll go ahead and send you on your way. Everyone who cannot already breathe under water, please add a potion of water breathing to your inventory, courtesy of the Captain

I'll go ahead and assume that you follow your pirate guide back to your own ship.

Yevelda is waiting for you lot on the deck. She still seems a bit perturbed by the fact that you just got called onto Hailstorm's ship.

"Well, looks like you lot are still 'mongst the livin'," the half-orc says with a nervous smile. "So that's a plus. What did the Cap'ain want?"

" We're stealing something from dead folks under the nose of a certain Admiral, your coming as well."

“That is the short version.” Emrys said nodding at Sayyida’s words. “The long one is that the captain used to have a stash in the area where Fort Dansby stands now. Obviously before the place was built. There is something in said stash that he wants and all the rest, which seems to include a good deal of treasure, is ours for the taking.” Something that could be useful even in their true mission. “Our target and bonus are in an area that the soldiers failed to find and that we can safely access from an underwater passage. The problem is that there’ll be vengeful undead inside, which prompted Hailstorm to offer lending us some hands. I named old allies good in the field of battle – you and ‘Naut. Our hydrozoan friend is doing something to Hailstorm that he didn’t seem particularly keen to elaborate but he was happy to put you in the same proverbial boat that us.” Truth be told he mentioned her name only to make asking for ‘Naut less suspicious. Combat ability would mask his interest in getting the real crew together, but that shot backfired. “If everything goes well you can be on our literal boat because we were told that if we impress the big guy our ship is back in our hands, as part of the crew, of course. Can you breathe underwater?”

Yevelda can't help but chuckle at Emrys' final question.

"Hate to break it to ya, but I'm half-orc, not half-fish... so no, I don't breathe under water. So I'll prob'ly need a potion for that little problem... and maybe another for the trip back."

Despite her humorous take, her eyebrows furrow with concern.

"So, sneakin' into, or rather under, Fort Darnby... that's pretty damn ballsey, even for the Cap'ain. But I owe you folks my life, so I'll be glad to join ya an' try to pay that debt by keepin' ya safe from the damn ghouls an whatnot the Cap'ain left down there."