DragonDenn’s Theros Game

Io shrugs and says, "Is going on a journey for the salvation of one's home and people not also a very noble reason? To undertake such a quest for the glory of one's god or for the salvation of one's home, either reason is heroic and noble." He smiles sheepishly a bit before adding, "Compared to that, my own reason for being here is quite selfish really. I have someone to find and this was one of the very last leads I had of trying to find them." He looks at the people shopping in the markets and says, "I should probably get going to the temple now. I will see you back at the ship." He will then try to find a temple of Athreos to pray at and also donate 28 GP to said temple.

Xerronios
The shop owner directs you to the potion shop the others found.

Kanlos
"Very well, it wounds my pride, but, if ye be on the god's business, then so be it." He accepts your offer.

Io and Ritha
You both gain inspiration.

Everyone
Sorry for the delay, been dealing with PC issues still, and RL other things going on as well. I will get a post up tomorrow for leaving the port and getting us into the uncharted Seas.

Xerronios thanks the store owner and heads over to the potion shop, waving to Ritha and Io as he sees them in the street.  After some time examining the wares, Xerronios makes his purchases and then heads out in search of a shrine to Klothys.

ooc: DD, can I just find one or do I have to roll?

You all can find the temples you are looking for, that is no problem.

Pushing off from the port you cross into the uncharted seas.

Over the next five days you have a somewhat uneventful time aboard ship. Some days are cloudy, some sunny, some inbetween. The days are broken by sightings of various creatures, but none seem too interested in the ship. Whales, giant eels, even an enormous squid, are all seen over the days, with a few sharks swimming past off and on.

On the sixth day you come across your first unmapped island... It is still quite distant, the spires that make up most of its mass visible from a great distance.

Towering pillars of natural stone stand guard around the island like fingers of some long dead titan, clawing its way out of a watery grave. The numerous pillars are eroded and slick from salty ocean spray, of varying sizes, and make up the bulk of the island's total mass. The tallest stretch high into the sky, while the smaller ones stick out like rocky pikes that impale incoming ships.

"That does not look very friendly." Gnorecys says as the group of you meet with her and her officers on the foredeck of the Proud Jester. "We cannot bring the Jester in very close, wouldn't want to risk her on those rocks."
"Should we just mark it on the map, we don't have to land on every single island, do we?" Misty asked, glancing to the captain.
"We at least need to scout it to see if Callaphe landed here, or left any clues here as they traveled onward." Gnorcys nods to the spires of stone sticking from the island. "Those could easily have brought down Callaphe’s ship, so our hunt could be over if it was sunk here."

"Allow us to be of use, and scout to find a place safe for the ship to dock.  With the use of the magical staff, all of us could easily swim underwater and see where the rocks would present no danger to the ship, if such an inlet might exist.  Then, we could explore the island thoroughly and document it carefully for our maps," Ritha suggests.

On his way back to the ship, Xerronios stops at the shrine to Klothys, finding it a bit rundown in comparison to the other shrines.  But he was used to this.  As Klothys put less emphasis on her mortal worshipers, that approach was often mirrored in her places of worship.  Still, it grieved him to see the lack of regard some had for the value of fate.  He spent time in thought and prayer, seeking guidance for the coming voyage, his place in it, and it's value to the skein of fate.

When he was done, he gave the priest of the shrine 30 gp with specific instructions on how it was to be spent.  "And I will check when next I come through here," he said to human woman, quite sternly.

Kanlos would have spent the five days learning the dangers of the sea as best he could from Misty. When land came into sight, he'd have checked it as carefully as possible with his spyglass to look for any sign of activity, past or present, on the shoreline.

Perception: 18

"Ritha makes a good point. It would be easy enough for us to look for safe harbor or signs of a shipwreck from beneath the waters, although I doubt a thorough investigation is required to determine if this is our destination or not."

Xerronios moves up.  "I also think it's a good idea.  However, if anyone wishes, I could ask Klothys for a sign."

Io says, "Ritha's idea sounds like a good one to me. I say we go for it."

During the 5 days on board, Io would be found either on deck, watching the waves or in his room praying to Athreos. He would "talk" to the River Guide. By talk he would simply sit in prayer and take some to vent what's on his mind and ask for the wisdom needed navigate through his own problems. Of course, he would never get any response back from the god but the one way conversation was still quite calming to the man.

(OOC: since Spyro has left the campaign there is the question of the staff ... since Spyro had it in his possession. How do we treat his departure IC? And what became of the staff?)

Does the Proud Jester have a dingy or equivalent for rowing to the island?

How big does the island appear to be ... could we round it in a day or is it more like a week for the Jester?

(OOC: The staff can be had by anyone who wishes it. We will say he simply left at one of the ports and left the staff on his cot.)

The island is not large, the Jester can easily sail all the way around it in under a day's time. Might depend on how close you wish to sail on how much faster than that it could be done in, but it is likely less than 10 miles in diameter.

Kanlos nods to the captain, "Why don't you drop us off to explore the sea floor and coast while you do a loop around the island at a safe distance? If you see anything send off some kind of flare and we'll do the same."

Io agrees with Kanlos, "I think that is a good way of going about it. We might be able to cover more ground that way."

"I have a wand of pyrotechnics for just that purpose, so we should be able to let you know on our end if there is a safe harbor to be had anywhere," Ritha says.

How close are you wishing to be dropped off to the island? Unless the ship gets in fairly close you will have a long way to swim to reach the island. Give me an idea of how close you are thinking.

Xerronios looks at the island and the wash of white water from the surrounding rocks and reefs. “Ruth’s, can you take a look under the water and see how close the ship can drop us off? I think getting as close as safely possible would be a good thing for us.”

"I am as comfortable in the water as out of it," Ritha says.  "As long as we are not traveling at a breakneck pace it should be no problem for me to swim ahead of the vessel and signal when it seems the depths are becoming unsafe for the hull.  The rest of you can use the ship's rowboat and join me."

(I would suggest Ritha disembark from the ship at about 2 miles out to have a look underwater to make sure it's safe, while everyone else gets out on the rowboat which we have, see post #58.  If we want to use the staff after that to see if there's a place for the ship itself to "park" we can too, though with the rowboat, if no one else is coming ashore it's not strictly necessary.)

"That's a great idea. Let me fetch my stuff and I'll be ready in a moment." with these words Kassiopeia rushes down to arrange her backpack for the task at hand.

Before returning to the deck she stops by what was formerly Spyros cot and picks up the staff he left there.

"Never leave ship without it." she says mostly to herself.

Back on deck she rejoins the others and the officers: "I agree that the Jester should keep its distance while we row closer, but we should also keep it slow so that Ritha has enough time to warn us if necessary."

Xerronios nods.  "That sounds like an excellent plan, Ritha."  He turns to the Captain, strumming a few notes on his lute.  "Will that work, Captain?"