CH. 12: Wyvern's Island

[BishGada]

During all the conversation Baeros seems frustrated. He didn't manage the sight seeing and even worse, Leanna waved him off for no reason. He was so polite and kind. What an awful day!

[JadedDM]

With that settled, Ouragana says goodbye to Koh'kra and the party returns to the ship, now with an extra person--Grey/Granite.

The sea trip to the island is long and fairly uneventful. Jocelyn manages to heal everyone up early on, so they will be in good condition when they arrive. After a week of no baths, everyone is feeling a bit gross...but it can't really be helped.

As each day passes, it's hard not to go a little stir crazy. This is likely the longest any of them have gone without seeing any land whatsoever. They are out in the open ocean, miles away from any charted islands. Luckily the weather is with them, for the most part. They run afoul of a couple of minor squalls, but nothing serious enough to harm the ship or knock them off course.

It's on the morning of the 25th of Ruebon that things finally change. It is shortly after breakfast; the good fun ran out days ago, so the party and the crew subsist on iron rations and whatever they can catch in their nets each night. Sierra and Terra are on the upper deck, when suddenly the woman in the crow's nest yells out--"Land ho!"

The sisters hurry up to the bow of the ship, and the captain pulls out her spyglass and looks through. "Well, I'll be damned."

"You owe me 10 gold coins," Terra teases.

"Ha, we'll see. It could be the wrong island. Or maybe there's nothing on there," she counters.

"These are the right coordinates," Terra confirms. "It must be the right island."

Wyvern Island.jpg (90.46 KiB) Viewed 5382 times

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It is now Ruebon 25th at 9 AM.

(OOC: Feel free to write a little blurb describing your character's actions the past week on the ship, if you like.)

[HorizonsDream]

Jocelyn spent the week trying to be helpful in whatever way she could be, even if that meant swabbing the deck from time to time. If someone got hurt, she healed them up the best that she could, and then spent a lot of time being bored and kind of anxious.

"Is it the island?" she asks as she approaches the sisters.

[BishGada]

Baeros enjoys fishing, watching falcon training and training the dogs himself. He also annoys the person at the wheel, suggesting new navigation techniques, and teases Terra at every chance. Obviously he means to be charming, but it just goes the other way around.

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(OOC: BTW, great image! What a wonderful sea!)

[spyguy1503]

Gallath has trained his falcon, groomed and fed the horse and falcon, and tried to talk to and learn more about Sierra.

(OOC: That really is a nice image. Is Naishe still on board?)

[Breila]

Ouragana spent as much time with Thaddeus as he would allow. If ever navigation got difficult, he would have shown him her special dagger, as a sign of confidence between mages.
She also asked the members of her group if they wanted her to cast Eternal Light on an object of their choice and did so when wanted. This day, the spells studied would be the same as on the list.

[JadedDM]

The past week for Jocelyn had been anxious. She kept trying to find some way to keep busy. At night, she'd have bad dreams but could never remember them. She'd just wake up covered in sweat, her heart pounding. Despite the danger involved, seeing the island on the horizon was something of a relief for her.

Her henchman, Brock, mostly spent the idle time in the cargo hold, training. He clearly wanted to be in tip-top shape for the upcoming adventure--well, in as much shape as he could be at his age and with his lame leg. He avoided socialization when he could, just focused on training and little else.

Although the crew found Baeros infuriatingly annoying at times, his penchant for catching additional fish for them helped balance out any ill will he might have fostered. Takit and Hopper would sit with him whenever he fished, eager to be fed any fish too small for the crew. Baeros also enjoyed watching Gallath train Thrax, his falcon. The human ranger and the elven thief were something of kindred spirits--both loners who were new to the party and had an affinity for animals. Baeros also tried to spend time with Terra whenever he could, but he kept getting mixed messages. Sometimes she would smile or laugh or even flirt back when he would hit on her, other times she'd act annoyed or would outright ignore him entirely. Maybe he just wasn't good at reading women, or maybe she was just messing with him. He couldn't be sure.

Gallath spent most of his time grooming his horse, Borak, and training his falcon. He searched the entire ship, but could find no trace of Naishe or her dwarven companions. They must have sneaked off the ship when they docked in Deimos. Perhaps he would meet her again someday, though. Gallath also tried speaking to the captain whenever he could, but Sierra was pretty tight-lipped for the most part. He did learn a few things about her, though, in the past week. She was very protective of her crew--perhaps why she would not risk them in getting the cannon. She was tough, but fair. She ran a tight ship and had little tolerance for nonsense. Her sister, Terra, was much more outgoing and friendly and often serves as a counterbalance for how serious and taciturn Sierra is.

Ouragana spent most of the week with Thaddeus, helping him in navigation or just discussing various intellectual topics to pass the time. There was something a little different about him, though, she noticed. He acted somewhat nervously at times, and became more anxious with each day that passed. If questioned about it at all, he'd laugh (a little too loudly) and insist there was nothing wrong before quickly changing the subject.

"Is it the island?"

"Maybe," Sierra says.

"It is," Terra confirms.

"One way to find out," Sierra says, putting away her spyglass. "We'll give your group a couple of rowboats and wait here. If you don't return or signal in some way in the next three days, we'll assume you're all dead and return to Narin."

"Err, but we're completely confident you'll be successful," Terra adds.

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(OOC: For further clarification on Ouragana's offer, for those of you not as well versed in AD&D's many spells, Continual Light will cause an object to glow with bright, cold light in a 60' radius globe. It lasts forever and cannot be extinguished by any means other than magic. If you do take her on her offer to have an item of yours enchanted, you should make sure you have a way to cover the object up so it doesn't glow during an inopportune time--for instance, it's hard to hide in shadows if your glove is glowing brighter than most lanterns. If you agree to her offer, specify which item you choose.)

[HorizonsDream]

"Oh, yes, I can feel how confident you are," Jocelyn teases the two sisters with a smirk. "All right, I'll gather everyone, and we will be on our way."

[xelphyn]

Dhan spent his time cleaning himself and at least freshening others with his can trips.
Other time was spent helping in what ever way he could ( which mostly means staying out of the way), and entertaining everyone.
(Also clepto-snatching anything that looks interesting but not important)

[BishGada]

Baeros is somewhat suspicious about the Continual Light offer. "Errr... do you have yourself such an object as an example?" He asks. "Hmm... if you put it on an arrowhead and then fire it, would it light the course of the flight? This could help other shooters aim at targets sneaking in darkness..." Then he asks, "Is it warm? Like a candle? I don't want to burn my backpack or pockets, or the whole quiver, for heavens sake!" he says quiet agitated.

[Breila]

Ouragana smiles at Bearos's concerns. "Look, this is what I have" she says, picking out a silver piece out of her belt pouch. Even in bright sunlight, its shine can be seen.
"Casting it on an arrowtip would be possible, but you would need a special cover for it when you don't need it. But the idea is good." Returning the enchanted coin to her pouch, she mutters "Ther is a spell to make objects hover, I think, so this could stay with me like a lantern..."

[JadedDM]

Granite's cantrips prove quite useful in delaying the bad odor that comes from a lack of bathing among the party. It's a temporary stopgap, but it's better than nothing. Nobody notices any of the stuff he's taken is missing, largely because it's of so little consequence, especially on such a large ship.

Val sold the weapons and armor she bought in Narin for a little profit, then bought herself a suit of chain mail and several gemstones.

The party prepares to board the rowboats and head for the island.

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(OOC: I've added the following things to Granite's inventory to reflect his kleptomania: a leather strap, a flask of lamp oil, a dagger, a piece of parchment, and a pair of spectacles. I've also removed the 'ripe' status from everyone, thanks to his cantrips.

Let me know what gear you plan to leave behind, if any. Also, animal companions. Will Baeros bring Takit and Hopper? Hopper has his blink ability but hasn't had formal training yet and is still just a pup. Also, will Gallath bring Thrax? Borak is too big and heavy to fit into a rowboat, so he must be left behind.)

Val is now moderately encumbered.

[Nuke]

Val spends the week getting even riper due to physical effort, she works to tone her physique. When the time comes, she removes her hide armor and carries the chain to the rowboat, planning on donning it once she is on dry land. She also leaves behind her battle axe in favor of her trident and bow. She wraps her new glowing silver piece in a dark cloth and secrets it into her belt pouch.

"Alright, ready as I will be. Let's do this."

[Breila]

Ouragana says her goodbyes to Thaddeus, then he looks him into the eye. "I can tell there is something you haven't told me. I hope you will not come to regret that you haven't."She gives him one last chance, then turns away to board the boat.

[spyguy1503]

Gallath asks for a glowing silver piece, and sees if he can get a thick cloth to cover it from from the sail menders. He looks at Sierra, gives her a smile, and asks her to take care of Thrax while he is on the island. "After all, the lair is probably in a cave, and he does poorly in those. I know I can trust you, Captain."