Warrick didn't see what the others were so concerned with the lighthouse for, a good coin passed through the right fingers ciukd make the light bulb butn out for a night or 2. Seems like the easiest way to smuggle in or out and the fact that there was a deal going down tomorrow night was no suprise in Warrick's eyes. "Seems the group has fixated on the lack of light house tonight. Though it appears to me that thus would probably be common occurrence otherwise it would draw alot of attention, the light is rather noticeable by design. I fail to see how that fact helps the current development we are attempting to resolve."
"Even if it wasn't part of the plan, it would be a good vantage point for us to see the comings and going."Thamul adds. "So let's have a look inside, shall we?"
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"grandpa" Salkur, Gnome Arti/Sorc: Forged in Chaos | Pepin, Human Arti/Cleric: Goblin horde | Mixtli, Volc Genasi Arti: Champions of the Citadel | Erix Vadalitis, Human Druid: Rising from the last war |Smithy, Human Arti: Night Ravens: Black orchids for Biscotti | Tamphalic Aliprax, Dragonborn Wizard: Chronicles of the Accursed | Doc, Dwarven Cleric (2024): Adventure at Hope's End | Abathax, Tiefling Illriger: Hunt for the Balowang | Gorin Mestel, Human Arti: Descend into Avernus
"More information's always good. And guessing if the light house is dark now, it'll be dark tomorrow when the dark elves come. I know they'd want it that way. Making them all the less suspecting if we can find a way to clear it out and launch our ambush from there tomorrow night."
Tanis pads quietly towards the lighthouse for a closer look, drawing his shortsword and holding it in a concealed position against his hip as he goes.
Thamul follows, hands at the ready to throw one of his many weapons if anything happens.
Stealth: (12,19)-> 12
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"grandpa" Salkur, Gnome Arti/Sorc: Forged in Chaos | Pepin, Human Arti/Cleric: Goblin horde | Mixtli, Volc Genasi Arti: Champions of the Citadel | Erix Vadalitis, Human Druid: Rising from the last war |Smithy, Human Arti: Night Ravens: Black orchids for Biscotti | Tamphalic Aliprax, Dragonborn Wizard: Chronicles of the Accursed | Doc, Dwarven Cleric (2024): Adventure at Hope's End | Abathax, Tiefling Illriger: Hunt for the Balowang | Gorin Mestel, Human Arti: Descend into Avernus
Seeing Thamul stance change and advance ready to draw, Warrick's eyes widen and he starts to follow and whispers to him, "ARE you mad? We can't go breaking in there for no reason other then curiosity? No intel, no plan, breaking and entering to potentially innocence dwelling or a heavily guarded or trapped flys web after upsetting the beacon for mothers to the lack-of-flame." Clearly Warrick thought his previous comments were sufficient to dissuade the rest from pursuing this thread and was surprised once the others started moving. He also isn't about to move away from his large friends protective aura and follows his in similar fashion.
Stealth: 7 (if at disadvantage for any reason nat 1!)
The group starts to near the lighthouse, intent on making their way inside and potentially seizing it as a vantage point for tomorrows ambush, but whilst Tanis and Thamul make it to either side of the doorway silently, it seems Warrick's footsteps against the cobbles and harsh whispers of warning are picked up by the wind, as just before he makes it the door where the other two are standing, it is wrenched open.
A man slumps forward from the gloom, looking out at the party. Both Thamul and Tanis luckily have their weapons concealed or stowed, so your intentions aren't immediately apparent, but the scene is still awkwardly tense, with Warrick standing between the two by the door, and Zifni and Selene stood further away, the only sound being the crashing of waves and pouring rain. The man has long dark hair that hangs forward off his skull in thickly clumped strands, as if it is perpetually wet, though is cleanly shaven. His nose is long and flat coming down from his brow, and he has a pinkish scar dragging down his left cheek from the bottom of his eyelid. He's rather tall, with incredible wide shoulders, so blocks the doorway enough to obscure any meaningful view indoors. He's wearing layers and layers of sealskin greatcoats, each fastened with different clasps and chains across the chest, though from the waist down he wears just a simple pair of leather waders and a pair of black boots, which gives him a rather top-heavy appearance overall. His watery grey eyes lazily drift on to each of you in turn, before he then mutters 'Can I help you?' in a disinterested drawl.
Tanis has a rueful moment of regretful hindsight, not having cast Blade Ward on himself and not having asked Selene to join him and the others.
Talking's one of her strong suits. Maybe Doc's strong suit too if he would stop being afraid. Never been mine.. unless being gloomy counts...
"Dark night," he drawls, returning the strange figure's detached disinterest. "Was just observing to my associates here how a dark lighthouse is less use than nipples on a breastplate. But then I got to thinking. Bad habit, that. The thinking. Seldom leads anywhere good. Anyway, I've got to ask. Could be a dark lighthouse isn't so useless after all, yeah? What's it take for a fellow to make sure the lantern stays dark on a night he chooses?"
Selene turns sharply at the sound of Tanis’s voice, the first muffled, but as she approaches and catches the tail end of his question, she doesn’t sigh, though she very nearly does. It’s not that he’s said anything wrong, but nuance and subtle pressure are not tools Tanis wields with precision.
She draws her hood back as she approaches, exposing slick strands of dark hair and the sharp shape of her jaw. Her gaze flickers to the man blocking the door, then to Tanis and Thamul, measuring their posture, then back to the wide-shouldered figure looming in the frame like a seal-draped gargoyle.
She stops just behind and slightly to the side of Tanis, enough to suggest she’s with him but distinct in her approach. She lets a pause linger, lets the crashing of the waves fill the silence again for a moment.
Then she smiles, small, polite, and just slightly tired.
“Bit late for hospitality, I know,” she says, tone even and conversational, “but the weather’s turned mean, and your lighthouse looked like the only dry roof that wasn’t already floating out to sea.”
She lets her eyes drift up toward the lighthouse, still dark.
“No light. Odd choice on a night like this." She meets his gaze squarely, not confrontational, but with that practiced calm of someone who’s used to getting what she wants without raising her voice.
She steps in slightly closer, not threatening, and tilts her head, as if noticing something behind him.
“Not here to cause trouble,” she adds lightly, “just needed a place to catch our breath while the worst of the rain passes. If you’ve got a kettle on, even better.”
There’s a moment of silence as she waits for his response, but inwardly, Selene is already preparing. Measuring the shape of the doorway, the echo of his voice, the tension in his frame. She doesn’t know if he’s a threat, but she knows what to do if he becomes one.
Still, her voice never wavers. Just a sliver of implication beneath her words.
“Don't worry we won't get in the way of a night’s work.”
The man tilts his head slightly as Tanis speaks to him. His brow furrows, trying to wrap his head around what he's asking, but as Tanis finishes, he says 'I think you may misunderstand or be unfamiliar with the port; the lighthouse is typically kept off, not on?' He seems genuinely confused, and listens closely as Selene talks to him. After she is finished, he runs his tongue along his teeth beneath his lips, clearly working something out; it seems when it comes to social interaction, this man is rather dim. He stutters slightly as he says 'Rain. Right. If you must come in, I should ask the master. Please wait here.' He turns, and slams the door behind him, plodding away like a half-witted ogre. You're left waiting for a moment, before the door is opened once more. But it isn't the broad-shouldered man from earlier standing there; instead, you're met with a hairless, alien looking figure, skin as slick and black as ink, who looks down at you all, imposingly. He's shorter than the man from before, but commands his presence in a way that is far more intimidating. His eyes are pitch black, and his head is slightly bulbous, like that of an octopus. His clothes are unorthodox in style too; he seems to be wearing several layers of ribbed indigo ruffs adorned and connected with little hooks that flows down his body to form a sort of robe; it takes you a moment, but a fitting comparison floats to the front of your mind soon enough; this man holds the general appearance of a vampire squid, though he's as black as the deep sea is cold.
'Selking tells me you want to come in from the rain, and have some questions about our lamp, I hear?' he sneers, his expression in contorted in such a way that gives you the feeling he's not buying it at all. The large, seal-bound man from earlier, apparently called Selking, stands behind his master, looking over his shoulder towards you. The squid-man continues 'It is curious that you seek refuge from a supposed sudden rain, when I haven't seen it dry here in decades. A curious place for one to get caught out, too; I doubt you had much business here in the first place.' He narrows his eyes as he says 'You also seem unaware of the lighthouse's practices. As the harbour master and lighthouse keeper, it is not my duty to keep the light on. Rather, it is my duty to keep the light off.' He punctuates that final line with some menace in his voice. 'The more sunken wrecks there are, the happier the God of the Tempest is kept. His storm is a veil that keeps us safe, distant, and isolated. As his priest it is humble duty to assure his presence is maintained, so I hope you appreciate that the storm is here to stay. I bid you farewell.' Without time for a response, the door is slammed, leaving you overall dumbfounded and confused. All aside from Zifni; you feel an unsettling sense of recognition start to form in the pit of your stomach. A supposed God of the Tempest out at sea, which keeps the storm constantly brewing and is appeased by sacrifices of shipwrecks, just like sacrifice of The Seraph's Wake that left him washed up in this miserable place; to him, that description matches perfectly with a kraken.
Selene stands there in the rain for a moment after the door slams, rain dripping off her nose, her hood pushed back, strands of wet black hair clinging to her cheek. Her brow is furrowed slightly, lips parted like she might say something, but no sound comes.
She blinks.
Then blinks again.
“…Wait,” she mutters, a moment behind her thoughts, “so he keeps the light off… to increase the number of shipwrecks?”
There’s a sharp breath, then a low chuckle escapes her before she can stop it. She tries to stifle it, fingers pressed briefly to her lips, but it bubbles up again, soft at first, then warmer, richer, until she gives in and actually laughs.
It’s not mocking. It’s not joyous either. It’s the laugh of someone soaked to the bone, standing in the middle of a storm, and finally finding something so audaciously backwards that it actually earns her respect.
“Well,” she says, breath catching, shaking her head as she looks up at the others. “I thought maybe he was just incompetent. But no, he’s brilliant in the way barnacles are brilliant. Slow, stubborn, and absolutely committed to ruining someone’s day.”
She sighs and runs a hand through her soaked hair, pulling her thoughts back together, laughter fading into a dry, almost fond exhale.
“Alright. Let’s get back on track.”
Selene turns, addressing the group with a returned sharpness to her tone, still keeping her voice low.
Perception Check:15 (To determine if there would be a place in which a signal form the mercenary guild could be placed to help guide the drow skiff in)
Thamul get's a shiver along his back "I knew there was evil in this city, but that is next level evil."
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"grandpa" Salkur, Gnome Arti/Sorc: Forged in Chaos | Pepin, Human Arti/Cleric: Goblin horde | Mixtli, Volc Genasi Arti: Champions of the Citadel | Erix Vadalitis, Human Druid: Rising from the last war |Smithy, Human Arti: Night Ravens: Black orchids for Biscotti | Tamphalic Aliprax, Dragonborn Wizard: Chronicles of the Accursed | Doc, Dwarven Cleric (2024): Adventure at Hope's End | Abathax, Tiefling Illriger: Hunt for the Balowang | Gorin Mestel, Human Arti: Descend into Avernus
Mumbling darkly to himself about how it might be easier for the tempest priest to have just permanently disabled the lighthouse's lantern than have to continually ensure it is not lit, Tanis takes the opportunity to cast and concentrate on Blade Ward on himself.
"Worse things, there are. Than a fatal shipwreck in the dark, I mean. Suppose if they turned on the light just in time for everyone to see you flail around and drown for the benefit of the Tempest Lord. How silly would you feel? Some things are better kept to the darkness."
The ranger glances around for ambush points along the water's edge where boats pull up, but is too distracted by gloomy thoughts to see any good ones.
Zifni balls his fists and a choatic breeze kicks up to ruffle his ever-shifting hair and the loose fabric of his robes. It is like the stiff breeze that heralds a coming storm; for those who remember a time before the perpetual tempest of the city, of course.
"They're feeding a kraken," he hisses with an electric anger.
His furious eyes turn on Tanis, the man's casual dismissal of a wreck prodding at the wound of his memory.
Zifni balls his fists and a choatic breeze kicks up to ruffle his ever-shifting hair and the loose fabric of his robes. It is like the stiff breeze that heralds a coming storm; for those who remember a time before the perpetual tempest of the city, of course.
"They're feeding a kraken," he hisses with an electric anger.
His furious eyes turn on Tanis, the man's casual dismissal of a wreck prodding at the wound of his memory.
"You don't know what you're saying."
"Aye, perhaps not." Tanis' face remains expressionless, yet his tone inflects to something subtly different. Something even rawer.
"But do not think that all the myriad mortalities in my endless tales are meant as a belittling jape. I have witnessed them all, these deaths past counting. Known them all. From my murdered parents, to nearly all those with whom I served in my town's Watch. To many others beyond. It is death and darkness all the way down, way I see it. All I can do is smile crookedly at the absurdity. Like a dry chuckle emanating from the deepest Abyss."
He looks around at the docks and Tempest City beyond. "It is why I came here, after all. To this inky nadir. To throw my grim smile at Death's face."
Warrick, happy that the interaction is over with the "lightless" keeper, turn to face back towards the dock. "Well I can't say that I'm suprised, though my hypothetical wasn't completely accurate, I think it sufficiently covered the intent here. We are lucky they didn't take our money to keep the light off too. So now back to the task at hand, where do want to discuss logistics and discoveries." Sure this topic of the lighthouse becon is over he starts to act like he will move away, of course he won't actually move without others.
"I have seen senseless death enough on the streets of this city, but to actively help feeding a kraken is worse than most I have seen. Do we still try to take the lighthouse? As it would still be the best vantage point?"
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"grandpa" Salkur, Gnome Arti/Sorc: Forged in Chaos | Pepin, Human Arti/Cleric: Goblin horde | Mixtli, Volc Genasi Arti: Champions of the Citadel | Erix Vadalitis, Human Druid: Rising from the last war |Smithy, Human Arti: Night Ravens: Black orchids for Biscotti | Tamphalic Aliprax, Dragonborn Wizard: Chronicles of the Accursed | Doc, Dwarven Cleric (2024): Adventure at Hope's End | Abathax, Tiefling Illriger: Hunt for the Balowang | Gorin Mestel, Human Arti: Descend into Avernus
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Warrick didn't see what the others were so concerned with the lighthouse for, a good coin passed through the right fingers ciukd make the light bulb butn out for a night or 2. Seems like the easiest way to smuggle in or out and the fact that there was a deal going down tomorrow night was no suprise in Warrick's eyes. "Seems the group has fixated on the lack of light house tonight. Though it appears to me that thus would probably be common occurrence otherwise it would draw alot of attention, the light is rather noticeable by design. I fail to see how that fact helps the current development we are attempting to resolve."
Thamul would have joined Tanis to the Lighthouse.
"Even if it wasn't part of the plan, it would be a good vantage point for us to see the comings and going." Thamul adds. "So let's have a look inside, shall we?"
"grandpa" Salkur, Gnome Arti/Sorc: Forged in Chaos | Pepin, Human Arti/Cleric: Goblin horde | Mixtli, Volc Genasi Arti: Champions of the Citadel | Erix Vadalitis, Human Druid: Rising from the last war | Smithy, Human Arti: Night Ravens: Black orchids for Biscotti | Tamphalic Aliprax, Dragonborn Wizard: Chronicles of the Accursed | Doc, Dwarven Cleric (2024): Adventure at Hope's End | Abathax, Tiefling Illriger: Hunt for the Balowang | Gorin Mestel, Human Arti: Descend into Avernus
"It points us to someone who may know more about this deal than we do," Zifni says in his airy, electrified voice.
"If the dockmaster has been paid to keep it dark, then he knows who paid him. That is more than we know."
"More information's always good. And guessing if the light house is dark now, it'll be dark tomorrow when the dark elves come. I know they'd want it that way. Making them all the less suspecting if we can find a way to clear it out and launch our ambush from there tomorrow night."
Tanis pads quietly towards the lighthouse for a closer look, drawing his shortsword and holding it in a concealed position against his hip as he goes.
Stealth: 16
Tanis(Ranger1): Shiverquill's Tempest City | Xarian(Fighter2): NioNSwiper's Tyranny of Dragons
Dyson/Eleo(TwilightCleric4): Vos' Beyond the Veil | Soren(ShepherdDruid5): Bartjeebus' Ravenloft | Ophelia(WildMagicSorcerer4): Ashen_Age's Risen from the Sands
Joren(EchoKnightFighter6): NotDrizzt's Simple Request | Sabetha(MercyMonk3): Bedlymn's Murder Court | Seri(NatureCleric3/DivineSoulSorcerer1): Bartjeebus' Greyhawk
Thamul follows, hands at the ready to throw one of his many weapons if anything happens.
Stealth: (12,19)-> 12
"grandpa" Salkur, Gnome Arti/Sorc: Forged in Chaos | Pepin, Human Arti/Cleric: Goblin horde | Mixtli, Volc Genasi Arti: Champions of the Citadel | Erix Vadalitis, Human Druid: Rising from the last war | Smithy, Human Arti: Night Ravens: Black orchids for Biscotti | Tamphalic Aliprax, Dragonborn Wizard: Chronicles of the Accursed | Doc, Dwarven Cleric (2024): Adventure at Hope's End | Abathax, Tiefling Illriger: Hunt for the Balowang | Gorin Mestel, Human Arti: Descend into Avernus
Seeing Thamul stance change and advance ready to draw, Warrick's eyes widen and he starts to follow and whispers to him, "ARE you mad? We can't go breaking in there for no reason other then curiosity? No intel, no plan, breaking and entering to potentially innocence dwelling or a heavily guarded or trapped flys web after upsetting the beacon for mothers to the lack-of-flame." Clearly Warrick thought his previous comments were sufficient to dissuade the rest from pursuing this thread and was surprised once the others started moving. He also isn't about to move away from his large friends protective aura and follows his in similar fashion.
Stealth: 7 (if at disadvantage for any reason nat 1!)
The group starts to near the lighthouse, intent on making their way inside and potentially seizing it as a vantage point for tomorrows ambush, but whilst Tanis and Thamul make it to either side of the doorway silently, it seems Warrick's footsteps against the cobbles and harsh whispers of warning are picked up by the wind, as just before he makes it the door where the other two are standing, it is wrenched open.
A man slumps forward from the gloom, looking out at the party. Both Thamul and Tanis luckily have their weapons concealed or stowed, so your intentions aren't immediately apparent, but the scene is still awkwardly tense, with Warrick standing between the two by the door, and Zifni and Selene stood further away, the only sound being the crashing of waves and pouring rain. The man has long dark hair that hangs forward off his skull in thickly clumped strands, as if it is perpetually wet, though is cleanly shaven. His nose is long and flat coming down from his brow, and he has a pinkish scar dragging down his left cheek from the bottom of his eyelid. He's rather tall, with incredible wide shoulders, so blocks the doorway enough to obscure any meaningful view indoors. He's wearing layers and layers of sealskin greatcoats, each fastened with different clasps and chains across the chest, though from the waist down he wears just a simple pair of leather waders and a pair of black boots, which gives him a rather top-heavy appearance overall. His watery grey eyes lazily drift on to each of you in turn, before he then mutters 'Can I help you?' in a disinterested drawl.
Xaul Lackluster: Half-Orc Fathomless Warlock: Warlock Dragon Heist
Borvnir Chelvnich: Black Dragonborn Barbarian: Dragons of Stormwreck Isle
Pushover Gerilwitz: Tiefling Wizard: Acquisitions Incorporated
Callow Sunken-Eyes: Goliath Arctic Druid: We Are Modron
DMing The 100 Dungeons of the Blood Archivist , The Hunt for the Balowang and Surviving Tempest City!
Killer Queen has already extended this signature, though not by much!
Tanis has a rueful moment of regretful hindsight, not having cast Blade Ward on himself and not having asked Selene to join him and the others.
Talking's one of her strong suits. Maybe Doc's strong suit too if he would stop being afraid. Never been mine.. unless being gloomy counts...
"Dark night," he drawls, returning the strange figure's detached disinterest. "Was just observing to my associates here how a dark lighthouse is less use than nipples on a breastplate. But then I got to thinking. Bad habit, that. The thinking. Seldom leads anywhere good. Anyway, I've got to ask. Could be a dark lighthouse isn't so useless after all, yeah? What's it take for a fellow to make sure the lantern stays dark on a night he chooses?"
Tanis(Ranger1): Shiverquill's Tempest City | Xarian(Fighter2): NioNSwiper's Tyranny of Dragons
Dyson/Eleo(TwilightCleric4): Vos' Beyond the Veil | Soren(ShepherdDruid5): Bartjeebus' Ravenloft | Ophelia(WildMagicSorcerer4): Ashen_Age's Risen from the Sands
Joren(EchoKnightFighter6): NotDrizzt's Simple Request | Sabetha(MercyMonk3): Bedlymn's Murder Court | Seri(NatureCleric3/DivineSoulSorcerer1): Bartjeebus' Greyhawk
Selene turns sharply at the sound of Tanis’s voice, the first muffled, but as she approaches and catches the tail end of his question, she doesn’t sigh, though she very nearly does. It’s not that he’s said anything wrong, but nuance and subtle pressure are not tools Tanis wields with precision.
She draws her hood back as she approaches, exposing slick strands of dark hair and the sharp shape of her jaw. Her gaze flickers to the man blocking the door, then to Tanis and Thamul, measuring their posture, then back to the wide-shouldered figure looming in the frame like a seal-draped gargoyle.
She stops just behind and slightly to the side of Tanis, enough to suggest she’s with him but distinct in her approach. She lets a pause linger, lets the crashing of the waves fill the silence again for a moment.
Then she smiles, small, polite, and just slightly tired.
“Bit late for hospitality, I know,” she says, tone even and conversational, “but the weather’s turned mean, and your lighthouse looked like the only dry roof that wasn’t already floating out to sea.”
She lets her eyes drift up toward the lighthouse, still dark.
“No light. Odd choice on a night like this." She meets his gaze squarely, not confrontational, but with that practiced calm of someone who’s used to getting what she wants without raising her voice.
She steps in slightly closer, not threatening, and tilts her head, as if noticing something behind him.
“Not here to cause trouble,” she adds lightly, “just needed a place to catch our breath while the worst of the rain passes. If you’ve got a kettle on, even better.”
There’s a moment of silence as she waits for his response, but inwardly, Selene is already preparing. Measuring the shape of the doorway, the echo of his voice, the tension in his frame. She doesn’t know if he’s a threat, but she knows what to do if he becomes one.
Still, her voice never wavers. Just a sliver of implication beneath her words.
“Don't worry we won't get in the way of a night’s work.”
The man tilts his head slightly as Tanis speaks to him. His brow furrows, trying to wrap his head around what he's asking, but as Tanis finishes, he says 'I think you may misunderstand or be unfamiliar with the port; the lighthouse is typically kept off, not on?' He seems genuinely confused, and listens closely as Selene talks to him. After she is finished, he runs his tongue along his teeth beneath his lips, clearly working something out; it seems when it comes to social interaction, this man is rather dim. He stutters slightly as he says 'Rain. Right. If you must come in, I should ask the master. Please wait here.' He turns, and slams the door behind him, plodding away like a half-witted ogre. You're left waiting for a moment, before the door is opened once more. But it isn't the broad-shouldered man from earlier standing there; instead, you're met with a hairless, alien looking figure, skin as slick and black as ink, who looks down at you all, imposingly. He's shorter than the man from before, but commands his presence in a way that is far more intimidating. His eyes are pitch black, and his head is slightly bulbous, like that of an octopus. His clothes are unorthodox in style too; he seems to be wearing several layers of ribbed indigo ruffs adorned and connected with little hooks that flows down his body to form a sort of robe; it takes you a moment, but a fitting comparison floats to the front of your mind soon enough; this man holds the general appearance of a vampire squid, though he's as black as the deep sea is cold.
'Selking tells me you want to come in from the rain, and have some questions about our lamp, I hear?' he sneers, his expression in contorted in such a way that gives you the feeling he's not buying it at all. The large, seal-bound man from earlier, apparently called Selking, stands behind his master, looking over his shoulder towards you. The squid-man continues 'It is curious that you seek refuge from a supposed sudden rain, when I haven't seen it dry here in decades. A curious place for one to get caught out, too; I doubt you had much business here in the first place.' He narrows his eyes as he says 'You also seem unaware of the lighthouse's practices. As the harbour master and lighthouse keeper, it is not my duty to keep the light on. Rather, it is my duty to keep the light off.' He punctuates that final line with some menace in his voice. 'The more sunken wrecks there are, the happier the God of the Tempest is kept. His storm is a veil that keeps us safe, distant, and isolated. As his priest it is humble duty to assure his presence is maintained, so I hope you appreciate that the storm is here to stay. I bid you farewell.' Without time for a response, the door is slammed, leaving you overall dumbfounded and confused. All aside from Zifni; you feel an unsettling sense of recognition start to form in the pit of your stomach. A supposed God of the Tempest out at sea, which keeps the storm constantly brewing and is appeased by sacrifices of shipwrecks, just like sacrifice of The Seraph's Wake that left him washed up in this miserable place; to him, that description matches perfectly with a kraken.
Xaul Lackluster: Half-Orc Fathomless Warlock: Warlock Dragon Heist
Borvnir Chelvnich: Black Dragonborn Barbarian: Dragons of Stormwreck Isle
Pushover Gerilwitz: Tiefling Wizard: Acquisitions Incorporated
Callow Sunken-Eyes: Goliath Arctic Druid: We Are Modron
DMing The 100 Dungeons of the Blood Archivist , The Hunt for the Balowang and Surviving Tempest City!
Killer Queen has already extended this signature, though not by much!
Selene stands there in the rain for a moment after the door slams, rain dripping off her nose, her hood pushed back, strands of wet black hair clinging to her cheek. Her brow is furrowed slightly, lips parted like she might say something, but no sound comes.
She blinks.
Then blinks again.
“…Wait,” she mutters, a moment behind her thoughts, “so he keeps the light off… to increase the number of shipwrecks?”
There’s a sharp breath, then a low chuckle escapes her before she can stop it. She tries to stifle it, fingers pressed briefly to her lips, but it bubbles up again, soft at first, then warmer, richer, until she gives in and actually laughs.
It’s not mocking. It’s not joyous either. It’s the laugh of someone soaked to the bone, standing in the middle of a storm, and finally finding something so audaciously backwards that it actually earns her respect.
“Well,” she says, breath catching, shaking her head as she looks up at the others. “I thought maybe he was just incompetent. But no, he’s brilliant in the way barnacles are brilliant. Slow, stubborn, and absolutely committed to ruining someone’s day.”
She sighs and runs a hand through her soaked hair, pulling her thoughts back together, laughter fading into a dry, almost fond exhale.
“Alright. Let’s get back on track.”
Selene turns, addressing the group with a returned sharpness to her tone, still keeping her voice low.
Perception Check: 15 (To determine if there would be a place in which a signal form the mercenary guild could be placed to help guide the drow skiff in)
Thamul get's a shiver along his back "I knew there was evil in this city, but that is next level evil."
"grandpa" Salkur, Gnome Arti/Sorc: Forged in Chaos | Pepin, Human Arti/Cleric: Goblin horde | Mixtli, Volc Genasi Arti: Champions of the Citadel | Erix Vadalitis, Human Druid: Rising from the last war | Smithy, Human Arti: Night Ravens: Black orchids for Biscotti | Tamphalic Aliprax, Dragonborn Wizard: Chronicles of the Accursed | Doc, Dwarven Cleric (2024): Adventure at Hope's End | Abathax, Tiefling Illriger: Hunt for the Balowang | Gorin Mestel, Human Arti: Descend into Avernus
Mumbling darkly to himself about how it might be easier for the tempest priest to have just permanently disabled the lighthouse's lantern than have to continually ensure it is not lit, Tanis takes the opportunity to cast and concentrate on Blade Ward on himself.
"Worse things, there are. Than a fatal shipwreck in the dark, I mean. Suppose if they turned on the light just in time for everyone to see you flail around and drown for the benefit of the Tempest Lord. How silly would you feel? Some things are better kept to the darkness."
The ranger glances around for ambush points along the water's edge where boats pull up, but is too distracted by gloomy thoughts to see any good ones.
Perception: 7
Tanis(Ranger1): Shiverquill's Tempest City | Xarian(Fighter2): NioNSwiper's Tyranny of Dragons
Dyson/Eleo(TwilightCleric4): Vos' Beyond the Veil | Soren(ShepherdDruid5): Bartjeebus' Ravenloft | Ophelia(WildMagicSorcerer4): Ashen_Age's Risen from the Sands
Joren(EchoKnightFighter6): NotDrizzt's Simple Request | Sabetha(MercyMonk3): Bedlymn's Murder Court | Seri(NatureCleric3/DivineSoulSorcerer1): Bartjeebus' Greyhawk
Zifni balls his fists and a choatic breeze kicks up to ruffle his ever-shifting hair and the loose fabric of his robes. It is like the stiff breeze that heralds a coming storm; for those who remember a time before the perpetual tempest of the city, of course.
"They're feeding a kraken," he hisses with an electric anger.
His furious eyes turn on Tanis, the man's casual dismissal of a wreck prodding at the wound of his memory.
"You don't know what you're saying."
"Aye, perhaps not." Tanis' face remains expressionless, yet his tone inflects to something subtly different. Something even rawer.
"But do not think that all the myriad mortalities in my endless tales are meant as a belittling jape. I have witnessed them all, these deaths past counting. Known them all. From my murdered parents, to nearly all those with whom I served in my town's Watch. To many others beyond. It is death and darkness all the way down, way I see it. All I can do is smile crookedly at the absurdity. Like a dry chuckle emanating from the deepest Abyss."
He looks around at the docks and Tempest City beyond. "It is why I came here, after all. To this inky nadir. To throw my grim smile at Death's face."
Tanis(Ranger1): Shiverquill's Tempest City | Xarian(Fighter2): NioNSwiper's Tyranny of Dragons
Dyson/Eleo(TwilightCleric4): Vos' Beyond the Veil | Soren(ShepherdDruid5): Bartjeebus' Ravenloft | Ophelia(WildMagicSorcerer4): Ashen_Age's Risen from the Sands
Joren(EchoKnightFighter6): NotDrizzt's Simple Request | Sabetha(MercyMonk3): Bedlymn's Murder Court | Seri(NatureCleric3/DivineSoulSorcerer1): Bartjeebus' Greyhawk
Warrick, happy that the interaction is over with the "lightless" keeper, turn to face back towards the dock. "Well I can't say that I'm suprised, though my hypothetical wasn't completely accurate, I think it sufficiently covered the intent here. We are lucky they didn't take our money to keep the light off too. So now back to the task at hand, where do want to discuss logistics and discoveries." Sure this topic of the lighthouse becon is over he starts to act like he will move away, of course he won't actually move without others.
"I have seen senseless death enough on the streets of this city, but to actively help feeding a kraken is worse than most I have seen. Do we still try to take the lighthouse? As it would still be the best vantage point?"
"grandpa" Salkur, Gnome Arti/Sorc: Forged in Chaos | Pepin, Human Arti/Cleric: Goblin horde | Mixtli, Volc Genasi Arti: Champions of the Citadel | Erix Vadalitis, Human Druid: Rising from the last war | Smithy, Human Arti: Night Ravens: Black orchids for Biscotti | Tamphalic Aliprax, Dragonborn Wizard: Chronicles of the Accursed | Doc, Dwarven Cleric (2024): Adventure at Hope's End | Abathax, Tiefling Illriger: Hunt for the Balowang | Gorin Mestel, Human Arti: Descend into Avernus