insight on the teens just to make sure they aren't undercover Ashegaurd Scouts 6
Morgan sighs, "Okay , while I hate the idea of leading two eager young adults to The Faith, that's your decision to go with, and I don't think there would be any living with Tarak if I sent you away. Can you sneak? if you can come with us, otherwise. They aren't looking for you. They might ask you if you've seen anyone, say that you haven't and walk on by. It's possible they might see us. Are you armed? can you fight? if you can't then stand down. You're no use to the Faith throwing you're lives away before you're even trained or outfitted. If you can then by all means show us what you got. In any case if you can meet us on the other side of them, then I'll give you a good word to the dragonborn."
Morgan tries to sneak with Lafetha stealth24 Just trying to sneak around them
"We're not going that way." "If we go with you, we're associated with you. It isn't worth the risk on that." "It's a day or two if you come with us, and from there we can make a plan!"
The two give a bit of a sigh - their goal clearly not the same as your own in this moment. They wanting you to follow, likely to where their hideout is. But it would only put you back further from the fast track to leave. Morgan is certain that they aren't working for the Ashgard, but their intentions are difficult to read.
The two begin to slink down and away. Not wanting to get caught lingering around them for too long.
((Tarak and Wilson, give a stealth roll. you do have a +10 to the roll due to Lafetha's spell))
Tarik says “I appreciate the offer of help but we must move quickly. My offer still stands. Go your own way and if you meet us at the boat before we leave I will take you with us.”
Then he turns and Stealths away with the group 13 + 5 add +1 for stealth skills so 19 total
It's about a day later when the Windhook crew arrives at the outskirts of the town they arrived in. The trio with the bird haven't been seen since the crew took a long way around; avoiding it's gaze.
Upon arriving at the outskirts.. something is clearly... wrong. Even from where you all are, it's easy to see the Windhook has been in a spot of trouble. The mast listing to one side; some of the loose rigging having been snapped. Or cut. It's too far off in the distance to tell.
Several paces off to one side; a tuft of dark feathers from a large bird involved in some kind of skirmish.
Without going into the town itself, it's impossible to tell right now. But it does appear that Shatter has paid a visit to the boat itself.
"Well, that look like it might cost us an arm and a... pretty penny. Should we send someone ahead to scout it out, or just walk into town and hope that among civilized peoples we will not be mobbed?"
Abigail you would be the best to assess the damage. If you are up to it would you please go check on Rollo and Mr Firmin and the Ship? If it is clear and can be quickly repaired then summon us and we will quickly board and help.
Abigail waits for Lafetha, then heads into town...
------------------------------------------------------------------ "You know, if it is not THAT bad, you could just sail off without them..." "Shut up you awful thought..." -----------------------------------------------------------------
Not sure about rolls...
Abigail is not wanting to stand out or be noticed by anyone as much as possible, so... Stealth: 15 Abigail is trying to keep an eye out for Shatter or signs of the Ashgard, so... Perception: 13 and/or Insight (20), to see if anyone is paying more than passing attention to them.
If we manage to get to the ship without being stopped... She attempts to assess the damage and how long she thinks it will take - Vehicles (Water): 16 ?
The townspeople seem.. shaken Something has clearly happened but they aren't necessarily out on alert. But between their stealthy approach and the fact people are busy with their day to day asks, it's easy enough to get on board without issue.
The ballista in the front has clearly seen some action. Three of the bolts missing, with several deep chunks of wood having been taken out of it. Stains of blood remain on the deck as well, around the mast and the side leading towards the dock. It's old... likely the fight started on the boat and went elsewhere.
The ropes themselves that hold and tilt the sails a bit have been splayed. Cut at the rigging and then.. somehow... blood getting on the cut sections. A few bullet holes line random parts of the deck and the ship. Down below no major damage. The engine has grown cool and needs to be restarted.
The ship itself is sail worthy... outside the ropes. And even then, with everyone helping, it shouldn't take too long to get it back to operation. Ten minutes as a crew. Hour solo. Could easily row and head out, dealing with it along the way.
But, there aren't signs of Rollo. Or Firmin. No signs of bodies in the nearby water either. They seem... gone.
Inside the Captain's Quarters, a note. The letters more like a child's clawing scrawl then penmanship. "Fly a white flag. Trade your Captain for Arm of Bone. He dies if the boat leaves."
A signet ring pressed in wax of the Raven's Nest Guild seals the bottom. The work of Shatter.
"Well, this is not a particularly beneficial turn of events." Abigail notes as she reads over the ransom letter. "I suppose there is only one thing to be done, since time is of the essence. Morgan, could you inform the remainder of the party that the ship is minimally damaged with no direct sign of the Ashgard in sight? They should still take care to sneak over here as well as possible - for prudence sake. Last thing we need is to have enemies on two fronts."
"Also, Morgan, I think it is about time I took back the letter box. We do not want the Ashgard to get it if they jumping you between trips."
Morgan hands Abigail the box. Morgan has already left before Abigail opens the box.
They go back to the team, "shatter did a one man raid on the Windhook while we were gone, ships mostly alright, but Frimin and Rollo are gone, supposedly alive though. No ashe guard yet, doesn't mean we need to make it easy to be seen... *Orc swear* what if Abigail sent me away to spend some time alone with Lafetha? Augh! This sucks! I mean Rollo and Frimin thing sucks more obviously but still..." Morgan sneaks back to the ship with the others.
“I can not see a clear path ahead of us. What I do know is that we can not leave Rollo or Mr Firmin in the hands of Shatter to die. Running is not an option he will simply follow but I can not allow him to take the bracer to whoever hired him. I have thought about why someone would want it and I fear it would be to release the Demon inside. Before I joined this crew I had a vision of a storm and something trying to break free. I can not be certain if that is this demon or if this demon is just a stepping stone to release the evil from my vision but I can not allow either to happen. Shatter has been a danger for too long and he will continue to be unless we are able to remove him from our path. I believe we must end this here.”
While Morgan is gone retrieving the rest of the crew, Abigail goes below deck and adds the documents back to the box. She looks around for some place to hide it, finally settling on hiding it among a coil of rope (she will utilize her own 50 ft. hemp rope if needed).
"Morgan, I know I am asking a lot of you lately, but... You definitely seem to have a way with people. I believe it would be prudent for one of us to ask around town as to what happened, and if anyone has seen anything; however, we also need people here to make repairs to the ship. Would you mind investigating with the locals?"
* Abigail will help with the ship repairs, unless Morgan does not go - then Abigail will ask around instead. *
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Morgan nods, "We'll we seem to be going from one near emergency to another people have to step up. I'll see what I can see but I might get invited to tea again... could be awhile."
Morgan will ask around to see if they can get any witness statements (all social skills at same level) 10
Perhaps it's Morgan's natural charm. Perhaps it's Morgan's fledgling understanding to how Loxodon love to talk, and using the tea connections that give them an edge, but they do come back with some details from the folks who witnessed it... in the most Loxodon of fashions of witnessing... hearing it from someone else while maybe seeing it or maybe not.
The fight began on the boat. Some people say that the boat fired the ballista at the bird first. Other's disagree.
As the fight on the boat escalated, the ropes attacked the man with one arm; and gave him a grievous wound. ...many stories seem to share this detail. You're unsure if they mean Shatter's floating chain, or not. But you did notice blood on the cut chords of rope...
The armored one is absolutely terrifying... the fact that so many seemed genuinely afraid of Shatter in their stories give Morgan pause in that this may be something unnatural...
The man and the one armed friend both managed to get off the boat on to land. It seems once the fight got into the street, things become messy. Nobody stuck around to watch the fight, while plenty shouted and attempted to deescalate the situation, but many were simply too afraid of it.
At the end of it all, the injured one armed man was gone. The other was injured, but seemingly alive and was carried away by the Armored Person. The direction they went is a hazy mess of embellishment to sell the story. Flew away on a giant bird north, or west, or south. Others saying they vanished in a puff of smoke. Or dove into the sea.
insight on the teens just to make sure they aren't undercover Ashegaurd Scouts 6
Morgan sighs, "Okay , while I hate the idea of leading two eager young adults to The Faith, that's your decision to go with, and I don't think there would be any living with Tarak if I sent you away. Can you sneak? if you can come with us, otherwise. They aren't looking for you. They might ask you if you've seen anyone, say that you haven't and walk on by. It's possible they might see us. Are you armed? can you fight? if you can't then stand down. You're no use to the Faith throwing you're lives away before you're even trained or outfitted. If you can then by all means show us what you got. In any case if you can meet us on the other side of them, then I'll give you a good word to the dragonborn."
Morgan tries to sneak with Lafetha stealth 24 Just trying to sneak around them
Lafetha heads in the same direction as Abigail and follows her to hide.
The kids shake their heads.
"We're not going that way."
"If we go with you, we're associated with you. It isn't worth the risk on that."
"It's a day or two if you come with us, and from there we can make a plan!"
The two give a bit of a sigh - their goal clearly not the same as your own in this moment. They wanting you to follow, likely to where their hideout is. But it would only put you back further from the fast track to leave. Morgan is certain that they aren't working for the Ashgard, but their intentions are difficult to read.
The two begin to slink down and away. Not wanting to get caught lingering around them for too long.
((Tarak and Wilson, give a stealth roll. you do have a +10 to the roll due to Lafetha's spell))
DM PbP Series (Completed) : The Blackmire Company, Voyage of the Windhook ,Shanty of Soulripper, The Streets of Dunnour
Tarik says “I appreciate the offer of help but we must move quickly. My offer still stands. Go your own way and if you meet us at the boat before we leave I will take you with us.”
Then he turns and Stealths away with the group 13 + 5 add +1 for stealth skills so 19 total
The Ashgard...
8 (Perception; no crits)
...are unable to spot the crew.
It's about a day later when the Windhook crew arrives at the outskirts of the town they arrived in. The trio with the bird haven't been seen since the crew took a long way around; avoiding it's gaze.
Upon arriving at the outskirts.. something is clearly... wrong. Even from where you all are, it's easy to see the Windhook has been in a spot of trouble. The mast listing to one side; some of the loose rigging having been snapped. Or cut. It's too far off in the distance to tell.
Several paces off to one side; a tuft of dark feathers from a large bird involved in some kind of skirmish.
Without going into the town itself, it's impossible to tell right now. But it does appear that Shatter has paid a visit to the boat itself.
What do you do?
DM PbP Series (Completed) : The Blackmire Company, Voyage of the Windhook ,Shanty of Soulripper, The Streets of Dunnour
"Well, that look like it might cost us an arm and a... pretty penny. Should we send someone ahead to scout it out, or just walk into town and hope that among civilized peoples we will not be mobbed?"
Abigail you would be the best to assess the damage. If you are up to it would you please go check on Rollo and Mr Firmin and the Ship? If it is clear and can be quickly repaired then summon us and we will quickly board and help.
"I will go with Abigail, just in case there is any trouble."
"Ya, ya... Alright."
Abigail waits for Lafetha, then heads into town...
------------------------------------------------------------------
"You know, if it is not THAT bad, you could just sail off without them..."
"Shut up you awful thought..."
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Not sure about rolls...
Abigail is not wanting to stand out or be noticed by anyone as much as possible, so... Stealth: 15
Abigail is trying to keep an eye out for Shatter or signs of the Ashgard, so... Perception: 13 and/or Insight (20), to see if anyone is paying more than passing attention to them.
If we manage to get to the ship without being stopped... She attempts to assess the damage and how long she thinks it will take - Vehicles (Water): 16 ?
Morgan would have asked someone for a dagger during the travels.
Wis save to not be a trash garbage person 11
...Nope...Morgan frantically glaces between Lafetha and Abigail, "and I'll come too!"
Morgan sneaks towards the Windhook 15 and looks out for ambushes 13 also ghost blade summoned, also also looks like a halfling.
The townspeople seem.. shaken Something has clearly happened but they aren't necessarily out on alert. But between their stealthy approach and the fact people are busy with their day to day asks, it's easy enough to get on board without issue.
The ballista in the front has clearly seen some action. Three of the bolts missing, with several deep chunks of wood having been taken out of it. Stains of blood remain on the deck as well, around the mast and the side leading towards the dock. It's old... likely the fight started on the boat and went elsewhere.
The ropes themselves that hold and tilt the sails a bit have been splayed. Cut at the rigging and then.. somehow... blood getting on the cut sections. A few bullet holes line random parts of the deck and the ship. Down below no major damage. The engine has grown cool and needs to be restarted.
The ship itself is sail worthy... outside the ropes. And even then, with everyone helping, it shouldn't take too long to get it back to operation. Ten minutes as a crew. Hour solo. Could easily row and head out, dealing with it along the way.
But, there aren't signs of Rollo. Or Firmin. No signs of bodies in the nearby water either. They seem... gone.
Inside the Captain's Quarters, a note. The letters more like a child's clawing scrawl then penmanship.
"Fly a white flag.
Trade your Captain for Arm of Bone.
He dies if the boat leaves."
A signet ring pressed in wax of the Raven's Nest Guild seals the bottom. The work of Shatter.
DM PbP Series (Completed) : The Blackmire Company, Voyage of the Windhook ,Shanty of Soulripper, The Streets of Dunnour
"Well, this is not a particularly beneficial turn of events." Abigail notes as she reads over the ransom letter. "I suppose there is only one thing to be done, since time is of the essence. Morgan, could you inform the remainder of the party that the ship is minimally damaged with no direct sign of the Ashgard in sight? They should still take care to sneak over here as well as possible - for prudence sake. Last thing we need is to have enemies on two fronts."
"Also, Morgan, I think it is about time I took back the letter box. We do not want the Ashgard to get it if they jumping you between trips."
Morgan hands Abigail the box. Morgan has already left before Abigail opens the box.
They go back to the team, "shatter did a one man raid on the Windhook while we were gone, ships mostly alright, but Frimin and Rollo are gone, supposedly alive though. No ashe guard yet, doesn't mean we need to make it easy to be seen... *Orc swear* what if Abigail sent me away to spend some time alone with Lafetha? Augh! This sucks! I mean Rollo and Frimin thing sucks more obviously but still..." Morgan sneaks back to the ship with the others.
Tarak joins the others back at the ship.
Stealth 2
Once he reads the note he turns and walks away from the others. “I need to think” he begins fixing ropes.
((If the crew assists in reinstalling rigging; it takes 10 minutes. Otherwise, it takes about an hour for Tarak to finish))
DM PbP Series (Completed) : The Blackmire Company, Voyage of the Windhook ,Shanty of Soulripper, The Streets of Dunnour
Lafetha helps Tarak reinstall the rigging.
"So what are you thinking? How do we get out of this one?"
“I can not see a clear path ahead of us. What I do know is that we can not leave Rollo or Mr Firmin in the hands of Shatter to die. Running is not an option he will simply follow but I can not allow him to take the bracer to whoever hired him. I have thought about why someone would want it and I fear it would be to release the Demon inside. Before I joined this crew I had a vision of a storm and something trying to break free. I can not be certain if that is this demon or if this demon is just a stepping stone to release the evil from my vision but I can not allow either to happen. Shatter has been a danger for too long and he will continue to be unless we are able to remove him from our path. I believe we must end this here.”
While Morgan is gone retrieving the rest of the crew, Abigail goes below deck and adds the documents back to the box. She looks around for some place to hide it, finally settling on hiding it among a coil of rope (she will utilize her own 50 ft. hemp rope if needed).
"Morgan, I know I am asking a lot of you lately, but... You definitely seem to have a way with people. I believe it would be prudent for one of us to ask around town as to what happened, and if anyone has seen anything; however, we also need people here to make repairs to the ship. Would you mind investigating with the locals?"
* Abigail will help with the ship repairs, unless Morgan does not go - then Abigail will ask around instead. *
Morgan nods, "We'll we seem to be going from one near emergency to another people have to step up. I'll see what I can see but I might get invited to tea again... could be awhile."
Morgan will ask around to see if they can get any witness statements (all social skills at same level) 10
Perhaps it's Morgan's natural charm. Perhaps it's Morgan's fledgling understanding to how Loxodon love to talk, and using the tea connections that give them an edge, but they do come back with some details from the folks who witnessed it... in the most Loxodon of fashions of witnessing... hearing it from someone else while maybe seeing it or maybe not.
The fight began on the boat. Some people say that the boat fired the ballista at the bird first. Other's disagree.
As the fight on the boat escalated, the ropes attacked the man with one arm; and gave him a grievous wound.
...many stories seem to share this detail. You're unsure if they mean Shatter's floating chain, or not. But you did notice blood on the cut chords of rope...
The armored one is absolutely terrifying...
the fact that so many seemed genuinely afraid of Shatter in their stories give Morgan pause in that this may be something unnatural...
The man and the one armed friend both managed to get off the boat on to land.
It seems once the fight got into the street, things become messy. Nobody stuck around to watch the fight, while plenty shouted and attempted to deescalate the situation, but many were simply too afraid of it.
At the end of it all, the injured one armed man was gone. The other was injured, but seemingly alive and was carried away by the Armored Person.
The direction they went is a hazy mess of embellishment to sell the story. Flew away on a giant bird north, or west, or south. Others saying they vanished in a puff of smoke. Or dove into the sea.
DM PbP Series (Completed) : The Blackmire Company, Voyage of the Windhook ,Shanty of Soulripper, The Streets of Dunnour