"Well, uh." The old man thinks a minute. "You can have this tower. Very strong in a tempest! I have a boat I've been working hard on - most seaworthy thing you've ever seen. I have some amazing bottles that have washed up. You won't believe it. Here - follow me - I'll show you!" He waves Kei forward, further downstairs.
The old man is a hard read - his face a mass of whiskers and wrinkles. But Kei doesn't feel any obvious deception here, and genuine excitement about his bottles.
Meanwhile, Boktopus strains to keep the boat from smashing against the rocks below.
Peri watches the rocks anxiously. He should have given Kei a line to tie off on the shore so they could drift a safe distance from the rocks. What is taking the old man so long? It's not like he has a lot to pack. Finally, his nerves fraying, he calls over the side, "Boko! Turn us loose; let's drift away a bit. If he can fly to the top of the tower, surely he can fly another hundred feet out to meet us. Gerrard, help me break out the oars. They may be needed to get us close if that fool keeps messing around until his spell runs out."
With the old man in the lead,Kei follows closely behind. Peleg moves at a faster pace than his demeanor would imply. "Show me this boat. Would it hold more than just yourself? We have some... additional provisions to collect from the island."
"Well," says the old man, slowly descending the stairs, "it's outside in the rocks right now. I've got a special flotation technique for it. The sides are extra-high for weather like this." He gestures all around. "But these bottles! You've got to see them. You won't believe it. You won't believe it. The colors! You'll see. Just a minute, let me find 'em..."
Kei follows him down to the next landing, where the old man produces a series of eight heavily-weathered bottles in eight different colors. They are empty. "Red! When was the last time you saw a red glass bottle? Never! And look at this one – look at the neck. Very rare! You've never seen anything like this. Never!"
He looks around the debris-cluttered room. "Need any rocks?"
"Best find a way ta find somethin' better than gettin' all churned up like bad flux. At some point we'll start takin' in more water than we can bail out." Dwal says as he throws another bucket of water overboard.
Boko lets the boat loose, and tries to play cephalopod sheepdog around it as it is rowed/drifted around the rocks. Cushioning blows, using her blindsight to detect obstacles and dangers.
Red bottles? Rocks? This guy has lost it. His thoughts of kingly rewards fade away. "No. I don't need rocks" he retorts sharply. "Look. Seems you have things under control here so how about we just free you and we'll be on our way. How do I break this globe thing? Just drop it and that's it?" He reaches into the pouch and palms the trinket. He does not yet pull it from its hidey hole.
The boat is rocked by the heavy black swells. The party is cold and wet, and some are feeling seasick.
Beneath, Boktopus sees nothing immediately dangerous under them. Now at a safe distance from the rocky islet, she examines the strange, finger-like rocky peak that the tower sits upon in the cold, cloudy, deep water. Its steep sides are mostly lifeless, with a few clumps of stringy seaweed and some tiny foraging fish.
Inside, the old man responds with keen interest to Kei's question. "You really have the globe? Was it beneath the abbey? How did you find it? Yes, smash it! Break it! Break it open! Where is it? Can I see it?"
The barrage of questions from Peleg puts Kei on edge. Before answering, he pretends to admire the collection of bottles but he quickly and quietly recites the words to a spell he's used before. This old coot has lost it. I'm about to smash the globe so we can get out of here. Are you all ready? His mental message aimed at Peri's mind. He picks up a purplish bottle and looks it over while waiting for a response.
Peri is started by Kei's voice in his head. But he answers aloud, not knowing precisely how the spell works. "Aye, we're ready. Drifting about 30 yards to the east. You bringin' the coot with you?" When the others look at him Peri says, "Kei says the old man's lost his mind. He's about to smash the globe. Hang on, I guess?"
Still made nervous by Peleg's exuberance around the globe his grip tightens on the glass sphere. "We'll get to that. Where's this boat of yours?" He tries to redirect the old man's attention.
Kei examines a purple-hued bottle. It has no markings - whether it once held a powerful potion or just some fancy liquor cannot be determined.
"The boat? Yeah, yeah." The hunchbacked old man slowly descends several more sets of stairs before climbing a rickety pile of crates and debris and through a very narrow window leading out onto the rocks. The wind whistles and salt spray intermittently showers upon you. Wedged between a jumble of gap-toothed boulders is Peleg's boat - a makeshift jumble of wood and rope. Or perhaps several boats cobbled together. It doesn't look very safe. "Do you want to try it out? It's a little windy."
"Here's a plan. You jump in your boat and get it ready to cast off. I just need to signal my friends that you're alive and well. Then, maybe, we can get off this rock together." The absolute lack of treasure on this isle had Kei's mood heading south, quickly. So much for this fool offering up untold riches for being freed. He grasps the globe tight once more and waits for Peleg to board his boat.
Once he sees the old hermit board and busy himself with readying the vessel he will remove the globe from its hidey hole. Here goes nothing!With one last thought, he raises the globe high in the air and throws with all his might toward the biggest rock he can see. He closes his eyes tight as the globe flies silently through the air.
The old, slow-moving man is nervous, holding back emotions, and above all, exceedingly slow. Kei helps him pull out and free his ramshackle vessel from its hiding place in the rocks. The surf, however, seems too dangerous to be launching anything in, especially piloted by this hunchbacked and feeble old man. The vessel is nevertheless prepared on the rocks some fifteen feet above the pounding surf. Spray quickly soaks both of you. "Break it!" he shouts above the gusty wind, with newfound firmness in his voice.
And Kei does. With Gerrard, Dwal, and Peri watching from safely offshore, and Boko monitoring the tranquil, murky scene below the waves, Kei whips the globe at a large boulder.
With a dull crack, the scuffed globe breaks in two, the smaller half wheeling sideways down into the surf. The larger half, the toy tower within now exposed, lay in a shallow puddle on a boulder. Nothing else happens.
The wind continues to gust, and the waves continue to pound. "Did you break it?" shouts the old man.
Opening first one eye and then slowly the second, Kei looks around. He pats himself down as if feeling for broken bones or torn clothing. When it appears everything is where it should be he straightens. With a huge smile on his face he picks up the remaining half of the globe. Looking at its miniature tower it is then that he hears an old man croaking something at him over the sound of crashing waves. "Did you break it yet?"
"What sort of daft question is that! Of course I did, see?" That's when it dawns on him. "So if it's broken but you can't tell....does that mean....you were never trapped? This was a test of some sort? Are you kobold crazy?" The questions, followed by a long bout of expletives carry on for a minute or so. Finally Kei runs out of words but not out of fury. He snaps the tower from its watery base and pockets the tower "I'm keeping this if nothing else!" and throws the broken sphere at Peleg as he Bob's up and down on his jetsam inspired boat.
The sticky tower embedded in the old glass adheres to the inside of Kei's pocket, instantly becoming a hairy blob of lint.
Peleg gapes at him with a mixture of confusion, victory, and fear. "What was inside it? Was it just regular glass?"
Then the ground shifts. First, you think a massive wave has dislodged the very boulders you're standing on, but then you realize that the whole island is beginning to fall apart. Massive boulders begin to tumble into the surf. The whole tower rises and leans ominously with a terrifying grinding sound.
Below, Boktopus can see that the entire underwater pinnacle appears to be expanding; rocks and sand slowly fall in undersea landslides. Clouds of sediment bloom, further obscuring her view.
Peri is growing impatient with waiting when he sees the first boulder tumble from the tower, throwing up a tall plume of water from its impact. Then the entire structure begins to shift. "I'm gonna go out on a limb and say Kei broke the globe," he mutters to no one in particular. Something in the way it's rising, rather than sinking, reminds him of the giant crab. He shudders, looking nervously over the side. "Make ready with that fan, Feldren. We may be running..."
Positioning himself in the boat so he can properly fill the sails at the captain’s command, Gerrard yells over to Kei, “Fly Peleg off the island, Master Kei, before it crushes the both of you!”
OOC: Readying to use the fan.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Gerrard Feldren - Human Noble in Ghosts of Saltmarsh
Kerric Brightblade - Elven Warrior in "Apocalypse"
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
Dwal busies himself by trying to not get knocked over board and not puke on any of the party that are present in the skiff.
"Well, uh." The old man thinks a minute. "You can have this tower. Very strong in a tempest! I have a boat I've been working hard on - most seaworthy thing you've ever seen. I have some amazing bottles that have washed up. You won't believe it. Here - follow me - I'll show you!" He waves Kei forward, further downstairs.
The old man is a hard read - his face a mass of whiskers and wrinkles. But Kei doesn't feel any obvious deception here, and genuine excitement about his bottles.
Meanwhile, Boktopus strains to keep the boat from smashing against the rocks below.
Peri:
Peri watches the rocks anxiously. He should have given Kei a line to tie off on the shore so they could drift a safe distance from the rocks. What is taking the old man so long? It's not like he has a lot to pack. Finally, his nerves fraying, he calls over the side, "Boko! Turn us loose; let's drift away a bit. If he can fly to the top of the tower, surely he can fly another hundred feet out to meet us. Gerrard, help me break out the oars. They may be needed to get us close if that fool keeps messing around until his spell runs out."
Gerrard:
”Aye, Captain,” calls back the young noble, setting to work immediately at Peri’s direction.
Gerrard Feldren - Human Noble in Ghosts of Saltmarsh
Kerric Brightblade - Elven Warrior in "Apocalypse"
Kei
With the old man in the lead,Kei follows closely behind. Peleg moves at a faster pace than his demeanor would imply. "Show me this boat. Would it hold more than just yourself? We have some... additional provisions to collect from the island."
"Well," says the old man, slowly descending the stairs, "it's outside in the rocks right now. I've got a special flotation technique for it. The sides are extra-high for weather like this." He gestures all around. "But these bottles! You've got to see them. You won't believe it. You won't believe it. The colors! You'll see. Just a minute, let me find 'em..."
Kei follows him down to the next landing, where the old man produces a series of eight heavily-weathered bottles in eight different colors. They are empty. "Red! When was the last time you saw a red glass bottle? Never! And look at this one – look at the neck. Very rare! You've never seen anything like this. Never!"
He looks around the debris-cluttered room. "Need any rocks?"
"Best find a way ta find somethin' better than gettin' all churned up like bad flux. At some point we'll start takin' in more water than we can bail out." Dwal says as he throws another bucket of water overboard.
Boko lets the boat loose, and tries to play cephalopod sheepdog around it as it is rowed/drifted around the rocks. Cushioning blows, using her blindsight to detect obstacles and dangers.
Kei
Red bottles? Rocks? This guy has lost it. His thoughts of kingly rewards fade away. "No. I don't need rocks" he retorts sharply. "Look. Seems you have things under control here so how about we just free you and we'll be on our way. How do I break this globe thing? Just drop it and that's it?" He reaches into the pouch and palms the trinket. He does not yet pull it from its hidey hole.
The boat is rocked by the heavy black swells. The party is cold and wet, and some are feeling seasick.
Beneath, Boktopus sees nothing immediately dangerous under them. Now at a safe distance from the rocky islet, she examines the strange, finger-like rocky peak that the tower sits upon in the cold, cloudy, deep water. Its steep sides are mostly lifeless, with a few clumps of stringy seaweed and some tiny foraging fish.
Inside, the old man responds with keen interest to Kei's question. "You really have the globe? Was it beneath the abbey? How did you find it? Yes, smash it! Break it! Break it open! Where is it? Can I see it?"
Kei
The barrage of questions from Peleg puts Kei on edge. Before answering, he pretends to admire the collection of bottles but he quickly and quietly recites the words to a spell he's used before. This old coot has lost it. I'm about to smash the globe so we can get out of here. Are you all ready? His mental message aimed at Peri's mind. He picks up a purplish bottle and looks it over while waiting for a response.
Peri:
Peri is started by Kei's voice in his head. But he answers aloud, not knowing precisely how the spell works. "Aye, we're ready. Drifting about 30 yards to the east. You bringin' the coot with you?" When the others look at him Peri says, "Kei says the old man's lost his mind. He's about to smash the globe. Hang on, I guess?"
Kei
Still made nervous by Peleg's exuberance around the globe his grip tightens on the glass sphere. "We'll get to that. Where's this boat of yours?" He tries to redirect the old man's attention.
Kei examines a purple-hued bottle. It has no markings - whether it once held a powerful potion or just some fancy liquor cannot be determined.
"The boat? Yeah, yeah." The hunchbacked old man slowly descends several more sets of stairs before climbing a rickety pile of crates and debris and through a very narrow window leading out onto the rocks. The wind whistles and salt spray intermittently showers upon you. Wedged between a jumble of gap-toothed boulders is Peleg's boat - a makeshift jumble of wood and rope. Or perhaps several boats cobbled together. It doesn't look very safe. "Do you want to try it out? It's a little windy."
Kei
"Here's a plan. You jump in your boat and get it ready to cast off. I just need to signal my friends that you're alive and well. Then, maybe, we can get off this rock together." The absolute lack of treasure on this isle had Kei's mood heading south, quickly. So much for this fool offering up untold riches for being freed. He grasps the globe tight once more and waits for Peleg to board his boat.
Once he sees the old hermit board and busy himself with readying the vessel he will remove the globe from its hidey hole. Here goes nothing! With one last thought, he raises the globe high in the air and throws with all his might toward the biggest rock he can see. He closes his eyes tight as the globe flies silently through the air.
The old, slow-moving man is nervous, holding back emotions, and above all, exceedingly slow. Kei helps him pull out and free his ramshackle vessel from its hiding place in the rocks. The surf, however, seems too dangerous to be launching anything in, especially piloted by this hunchbacked and feeble old man. The vessel is nevertheless prepared on the rocks some fifteen feet above the pounding surf. Spray quickly soaks both of you. "Break it!" he shouts above the gusty wind, with newfound firmness in his voice.
And Kei does. With Gerrard, Dwal, and Peri watching from safely offshore, and Boko monitoring the tranquil, murky scene below the waves, Kei whips the globe at a large boulder.
With a dull crack, the scuffed globe breaks in two, the smaller half wheeling sideways down into the surf. The larger half, the toy tower within now exposed, lay in a shallow puddle on a boulder. Nothing else happens.
The wind continues to gust, and the waves continue to pound. "Did you break it?" shouts the old man.
Kei
Opening first one eye and then slowly the second, Kei looks around. He pats himself down as if feeling for broken bones or torn clothing. When it appears everything is where it should be he straightens. With a huge smile on his face he picks up the remaining half of the globe. Looking at its miniature tower it is then that he hears an old man croaking something at him over the sound of crashing waves. "Did you break it yet?"
"What sort of daft question is that! Of course I did, see?" That's when it dawns on him. "So if it's broken but you can't tell....does that mean....you were never trapped? This was a test of some sort? Are you kobold crazy?" The questions, followed by a long bout of expletives carry on for a minute or so. Finally Kei runs out of words but not out of fury. He snaps the tower from its watery base and pockets the tower "I'm keeping this if nothing else!" and throws the broken sphere at Peleg as he Bob's up and down on his jetsam inspired boat.
The sticky tower embedded in the old glass adheres to the inside of Kei's pocket, instantly becoming a hairy blob of lint.
Peleg gapes at him with a mixture of confusion, victory, and fear. "What was inside it? Was it just regular glass?"
Then the ground shifts. First, you think a massive wave has dislodged the very boulders you're standing on, but then you realize that the whole island is beginning to fall apart. Massive boulders begin to tumble into the surf. The whole tower rises and leans ominously with a terrifying grinding sound.
Below, Boktopus can see that the entire underwater pinnacle appears to be expanding; rocks and sand slowly fall in undersea landslides. Clouds of sediment bloom, further obscuring her view.
Kei: Make a big ol' Dex Save.
Peleg Dex save: 8
Peri:
Peri is growing impatient with waiting when he sees the first boulder tumble from the tower, throwing up a tall plume of water from its impact. Then the entire structure begins to shift. "I'm gonna go out on a limb and say Kei broke the globe," he mutters to no one in particular. Something in the way it's rising, rather than sinking, reminds him of the giant crab. He shudders, looking nervously over the side. "Make ready with that fan, Feldren. We may be running..."
Gerrard:
Positioning himself in the boat so he can properly fill the sails at the captain’s command, Gerrard yells over to Kei, “Fly Peleg off the island, Master Kei, before it crushes the both of you!”
OOC: Readying to use the fan.
Gerrard Feldren - Human Noble in Ghosts of Saltmarsh
Kerric Brightblade - Elven Warrior in "Apocalypse"