More Dragons of Stormwreck Isle [IC][2024 rules][1]

With three of you at the oars, the trip is smooth, taking less than an hour and a half to reach the coordinates.

The Compass Rose sits like a rotting carcass against a ridge of sharp rocks and enormous, bleached dragon bones. Its soggy wooden walls have aged to a sickly black and green, choked by thick layers of algae and barnacles. A faint odour of rot wafts through the salt air, competing with the shrill screeching of seagulls and the constant roar of the surf breaking against the hull.

A tangled mess of tattered sails and rigging hangs off the starboard side of the main deck, offering one possible way to climb aboard. Meanwhile, at the stern, you can make out a gaping hole in the hull beneath the waterline, offering a second, more submerged way into the belly of the ship.

Dev grabs the side of the rowing boat and stares at the huge bones.  "Are them dragon bones?" he asks incredulously.  "They be Impressive, that be sure."  He studies the hole below the water line, then shudders, deciding that getting fully wet this morning wasn't on the agenda.  As the boat makes its way round the ship, he makes sure that all his gear is secured safely.  "Well, we be out here now.  Would be rude to leave and not take a look!"  

He waits until the small boat is next to a suitable piece of rigging hanging down and grabs it.  He takes a moment to try and find his feet, then begins to make his way up the side of the wreck.

Athletics check: 9

The young red-haired sorceress smiles at Dev's confident comment, finding the good spirit with the newly formed adventuring party quite encouraging.

As the the wreck come into view she sits quite fascinated by the enormous dragon bones, feeling a strange connection to them, her hand subconsciously touching her red scales through her dress. Someday she hoped to reach a deeper understand about her past and what she truly was, for now adventure awaited on the shipwreck.

As Dev starts to climb aboard the wreck, Valeria impatiently waits around on the rowing boat for help with the perilous climb.

"I couldn't say for certain darling, but more than like, ain't it? If anyone knew from the mainland these sorta things were just laying here, why... hmm..." Lothia trailed off from there tapping her chin with the tip of a finger. She wrinkles her nose as the smell of rot hits her a second time, disrupting her thoughts and prompting a shake of the head. "Mn. Best not to keep her waiting. Let's start from the tippy top and work are way down." She adds while waiting for Dev to make his way up. Soon as he does, Lothia aimed to not be far behind him, but stopped short of just grabbing the rigging to look to Val with a smirk. "Need a hand, darling? Well..." Lothia looks up to the rigging, and if it appeared doable, the goliath intended to climb up aboard before offering a hand to pull Val up. But if not possible, she'd first clamor onto what she hope was a secure enough spot near the boat, before looking back and saying, "Well? No time to waste. You can climb on my back and hang on at the very least, yea?" 

The mouldering wood of the deck is slick with algae and seawater. Amid the tangle of rigging, splintered railings, and stray seaweed, you spot boots, bones, and bits of gore that seem considerably more recent than the wreck of this ship.

Stairs lead to upper decks at fore and aft, and doors lead into cabins under those decks. The mainmast remains intact and mostly upright, topped with a crow’s nest overflowing with debris. A rope ladder runs up the mast to the crow’s nest, secure despite the condition of the wreck. A staircase near the mast and a large hatch on the port side both lead down into the hold.

Dev manages to haul himself up onto the deck of the ship, and he stares in surprise at how well preserved the wreck is.  

"How long did they say this 'ere wreck has been here?" he asks.  He stares up at the crows nest, and briefly considers climbing it, before turning his attention to the deck.  He rubs at the algae with a foot, then steps carefully further onto the deck.  He wrinkles his nose at the gore lying there, but leaves it alone, instead heading for the bow (C2) of the ship.  He climbs the steps carefully, making sure that each one is sound before putting his full weight onto it.  Getting onto the upper deck he begins to walk round it slowly, looking for any signs of undead aboard the wreck.  

Perception check: 5

“Forty years, I think,” calls up Pev. He waits for a rope or an arm down, but if none comes he will do his best to clank and clamber up after Dev. 

Seeing the hardy gnome making the climb fairly easily, the red-haired sorceress decides to make the climb on her own, turning down the kind offer for a piggyride. Once aboard she takes in the scene and then starts to look around more closely for clues to what could be drawing the ships here.

Perception: 24

Paddy seems stupefied by the sight of the dragon skeleton, trying to wrap his mind around the pale arcs of bone that jut out of the water, utterly colossal compared to his little old self. The sheer scale of the thing leaves him slack-jawed, a low whistle fading between his teeth at the strange vista.

He follows in the wake of his newfound comrades, but when they make footfall on the stinking hulk of the Compass Rose, his wits seem to sharpen once more.

"Ah, hold up a tick, will ye, lads? I'll be back in a jiffy." The golden dragonborn says in a wet, raspy tone. Clenching his cigar between his teeth, he begins ascending the rope ladder to the crow's nest for clues as to what befell the wreck in more recent times, and with any luck, some of that lovely shiny that Mumpo hinted at. 

Athletics or Acrobatics: 2 or 6
Perception: 13

 Lothia appeared both charmed and even approving of Val making her own way up. Her attention then goes to Pev, who she makes a similar offer. Although regardless of whether it's accepted or not, she makes the rest of the trip up in due time with or without the cleric, then took out her book and pen to start rapidly recording all she saw of the top deck.

 "Wait! Forty years?!" She clicks her tongue. "Were none of you sweet things paying any real attention? This wreck ain't older than some several days according to Varnoth. T'is why we suspect this whole recent upswing of undeads had something to do with whatever was brought along on this ship." Lothia explained while giving Pev and Dev a look of both amusement and disappointment. "Anyways, none of you sweet things find yourself below 'till after Paddy gets back down from that crow's nest. Doubt we'll find what we're looking for there, but doesn't hurt being thorough." The goliath warns before making her way over to the base of the ladder, if only to watch the climb and be in place to catch the dragonborn.

“Oh,” says Pev, “Maybe I took it in the allegorical sense?” He clambers up after the Goliath if she offers him a hand up from the rowboat. 

Dev,  the broken foremast leans out across a broken railing, with a tangle of rigging and tattered canvas trailing down to the rocks and dragon bones below. A rusted and rotting ballista stands near the broken mast. It is obvious that the ballista no longer works. There’s nothing of interest to find here.

"Heh heh heh... ah, Mumpo, moi lad, yer as true as yer word." Paddy chuckles and kisses the gems before squirrelling them away in his purse. He glances down to see if anyone's noticed him seizing his bounty, and his head momentarily swims with vertigo at the parlous drop into the sea. "Whoa-a-a..." Deciding it is not best to press his luck any further, he shuffles out of the basket and down the mast listing to the port side, before hopping down to reunite with his companions. 

"Some kind o' birdie had made its nest up there, oi think - mostly pieces o' rubbish, but oi found us some pretty jewellery in case the kobolds ever decide invite us to a fancy banquet!" The dragonborn shakes a bracelet as golden as he, but reveals nothing about the rest of the treasure he uncovered. Guilt pinches at him like a crab's claw, but he suppresses the feeling with a hard frown. I was the one to find the loot, why shouldn't I keep it to myself? 

"Let's head on in, eh? Moight be some more o' these shinies t' be found below decks..." He wiggles his brow ridge and begins limping in the direction of the hatch. 

((OOC: BTW, please don't worry about Paddy seemingly hoarding the treasure. It's just roleplay - he's an old criminal who isn't fully reformed yet, and is currently dealing with those annoying piques of conscience. :) But I promise won't shortchange anyone on the gold!))

 The young red-haired sorceress quickly steps to pick up one of the oily feathers, trying to determine what kind of bird it came from.
Nature: 19

She then looks up at the crows nest with a concerned look, seeming a bit relieved as Goldie makes it back down safely, not seeming to be overly impressed with the valuables he found but eager to move on to solve the mystery, nodding and following the dragonborn as moves towards the hatch. 
Perception: 21

As she had been on watch to catch Paddy as he fell, it could be Lothia might've seen something or other. But if she had, by the time Paddy comes down announcing his findings, she doesn't react like someone suspicious or disappointed. If anything, she appeared amused and smirked a little, before then saying, "I doubt we'll find many more 'shinies' as ya put it, but we certainly aughta find what's been drawing that dead fer sure. 'cause I don't know if ya noticed darling, but all this-" She motions to the rest of the wreck with a look of both amusement and worry on her face.

"Shouldn't look at all this darling. Not fer how long this ships been out here, and I've seen plenty of wrecks in even my short time of traveling along the Sword Coast, let me tell ya." At that, she sighs and in seeing none of the nearby cabin doors hadn't been opened on the main deck, went over to try her luck and take a peek through at least one of them. (The northeast one on the main deck) 

Dev fiddles with the ballista in a vain attempt to see if he can make it work, but finding the weapon rotten and fused together he sighs and begins to move back down to the main deck.  He glances up at Paddy's words about the bird, and immediately regrets it, feeling a little dizzy at the height of the crow's nest.  "Magpie's be birds that collect rubbish, ain't they?" he asks.  "But they ain't exactly salty sea birds."  He glances up once again, then shrugs making his way to the other upper deck (C3).

Perception: 6 

Pev casts Light causing his brass hat to shine brightly with a touch. He follows Dev down to the main deck, and then heads to any steps or hatch that head downward, looking to see further into the body of the ship. 

Lothia, you reach one of the doors and pry it open. Six double bunks line the edges of this cabin. Personal effects are strewn about the room, but your eyes are drawn to a faded, painted portrait that hangs on one wall. The portrait shows a young couple smiling and embracing.

Dev, you head to the opposite site of the ship. The splintered remains of a mast jut up from this rear deck like a broken spear. The ship’s wheel is askew, dislodged from its mechanism. . You can see text carved into the wood of the wheel, although from your angle, it is currently upside down.

Valeria, you identify the oily feathers immediately: they belong to vultures, although they seem unusually large. As you and Paddy peer through the hatch, your senses pick up a sound that makes your blood run cold - the rhythmic, wet sloshing of something heavy dragging itself through the water on the deck below.

Pev, as your magic lights up the dark space beneath the hatch, you catch a glimpse of slouched silhouettes plodding slowly through the calf-deep water. They move with a mindless, stumbling gait, the shadows cast from your light dancing against the rotting hull.

Dev slaps the broken mast speculatively then moves to the wheel, gently tugging on it to see if it will turn in the hope that the writing is showing the correct way up.

As Valeria and Padrionn investigate the entrance to the hold, the dragonborn's club-like claws stop short of pulling the hatch open. "If moi ears don't deceive me, that's more o' them bloaters we scrapped with, the filt'y rat bastids." He rasps softly, clenching his jaw in preparation for battle. 

He takes a few careful steps back and gestures wildly but silently to the rest of the party to draw their attention, and then exaggeratedly mimes the shambling of the zombies they battled on the beach. When he feels his companions have been warned, the former butcher draws his cleavers and waits for the rest of the group to assemble near the hatch before opening it.