Kerluddein (IC)

[CullinaneLives]

Westh

"Steady and quick and we'll be done before you know it!" the hadozee comments as he prepares to disembark.

[MikelaC]

LYSINDRA

Lysindra flashes another one of her winning smiles to the nearest crewman.

Honey, would you be a dear, and tell me where the fo'c's'le is?

When he tells her, thats where she heads.

[Jack_Simth]

Sylvia shouts a friendly warning as she flies into position to play Watchman, and avoiding surfaces that would tend towards sheltering diseases as she goes.

"Best avoid the sentry box if you can manage; it looks like the loch gaurd bit it there."

[CullinaneLives]

Westh

Westh nods and waves while wondering what it would be like to ride the winds as easily as their high watch did. The patagia that were a hadozee's blessing were good for gliding and a semblance of flight, but could not provide the lift needed to fly from a low point to a high one.

With a shake of his head, Westh discarded the thought as unworthy and easily moved down the gangplank.

[Mando Knight]

Helena waves back at Sylvia in acknowledgment, then heads down the gangplank and takes position to help with the locks.

[Jack_Simth]

Sylvia circles above the loch mechanism, waiting for everyone else to act.

[gigz]

Irik


Irik nods his head at the captain, before resuming his standard post middeck. He watches the crew intently, and listens for the call.

[Marillion]

Kamau, still off-duty, naps below deck. He sleeps fitfully, tossing and turning. His thumb finds its way to his mouth, and once it's popped in, he calms down again.

[Kris Strife]

Larin is below the decks, taking the chance to meditate for the day, having not had the chance due to this morning's excitement. Since the cabin is too small for his normal exercises and the deck is crowded, he sits on his bunk, legs crossed and eyes closed as he murmurs a marching song to help him focus.

[rrkkskrrk]

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A correction: there should be three pairs of gates in the lock, one of which is facing the "wrong" way (it opens towards where the Wings is).

Westh and Helena
You depart from opposite sides of the ship and head upwards towards the first gate. It swings backwards with surprising ease; the lock-keeper must have maintained it well. When you reach the next pair of gates, though, you encounter a problem: the chamber is full of water, and the gates won't push open with it there. What's more, with such a large lock you're sure the water would flood the Wings completely as it came down.
Whether you or your companions notice it, you're made aware that there's a secondary mechanism built into the gate itself, which must be to let the water out. The problem is that it's missing its handle; there's nothing but a square knob on the side, and you quickly discover that it's impossible to turn by hand just as it is.

Lysindra
"Front of the ship, darling."

Sylvia

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You spot something bubbling to the surface as the first pair of gates opens, disturbed by the movement of water that it creates. You follow it quickly with your eyes, but it's just the carcass of a dog, dead of the plague. It flows quickly downwards into the main river, floating quickly past the bow of the ship.

Larin
Cooky's flat face momentarily appears around the door, then disappears quickly again as he realises that you don't want to be disturbed.

[CullinaneLives]

Westh

"Well, don't that beat all? Hrm... Do we need to skip forward and drain these things the other direction?" he inquires, not necessarily to himself.

[rrkkskrrk]

Westh
The crewman accompanying you wrinkles his face in confusion, creating an interesting pattern with his scars. "What, drain the water upwards?"

[Mando Knight]

Helena looks around for an object with which to use in conjunction with the knob.

Taking 20: Search 20, Spot 21

[CullinaneLives]

Westh

"I was thinkin' we'd have to start farther on and let work backwards, so it's all level and we don't bury the Wings."

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I don't think I'm thinking clearly on this. My head's been just short of spinning all day and now I have to think about something I can't see! Fun!

[rrkkskrrk]

Helena
[spoiler]
There isn't anything in your immediate surroundings, but you find whilst examining the knob to judge its exact size that the edges are much cleaner than the surrounding metal, as if either the handle has recently been removed or as if its removal is a regular occurance.

Westh

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I'll have the character explain it for me.

"Well, you've got your two basic levels of canal water, haven't you, the top one and the bottom one, and your chamber here, that's at the top level, see? So your top pound, that bit up there, that's going to always be at your top level, isn't it? You want to be letting water down all slow-like through the paddles, I'd say."

[CullinaneLives]

Westh

"RIIIIGHT! The paddles. Which we can't use without the handle, right? You don't s'pose it's in the gate-house?"

[rrkkskrrk]

Westh
The crewman nods sagely. "That'd be your primary place of storage for your basic paddle-handle, right enough."

[CullinaneLives]

Westh

The hadozee nods and grins. He waves to Helena and Sylvia. "We need to check out the gatehouse for the handle," he calls up to the flying look-out.

[Jack_Simth]

Sylvia waves back at the Hadozee, continuing her circling watch "Okay. I can soar up here for hours without too much trouble. Although you might want to consider checking if there's some spare wood inside the ship that will either fit, or can be sanded down to fit, rather than finding the intended handle - you really do want to minimize your exposure in this place."

[Mando Knight]

Helena also goes towards the gatehouse to retrieve a handle for her side.

[CullinaneLives]

Westh

"Good idea!" Westh replies and waves. He heads back towards the gatehouse, but stops at the gangplank back to the Wings. "There's no handle for the paddles. Anythin' aboard that might work? We'd rather not check the gatehouse unless we must!"

[rrkkskrrk]

Westh
Dashi leans over the side to call back to you. "Can't think of anything myself yet, mate. I'll have a root around in the hold, but head over and keep a kerchief over your mouth if you can. Might be able to reshape the hole in a block to move it if you can't find the thing quickly."

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Dashi Wingsdaughter is the hadozee first mate, by the way. I can't remember if she's appeared yet when you've been in the campaign.

[Mando Knight]

When Helena reaches the gatehouse, she unwinds some of the bandages that she wears about her person to use as a makeshift kerchief.

[CullinaneLives]

Westh

"Kerchief! Yeah!" Westh replies as he looks at his sparse clothing and shakes his head.

[rrkkskrrk]

Helena
Even through your kerchief, you can smell the stench the second you enter the tiny gatehouse. The gatekeeper was obviously a man of very particular tastes, because not a single surface is cluttered, and even the unoccupied bed is kept spotless apart from the flecks of blood. If it were not for the signs of wear, it would almost look as if it is. You can see the handle instantly: it's hanging up above the corpse's head, in easy reach for him but difficult to reach for you without risking contact in the process.

Westh
Dashi ties the kerchief she wears around her head to a copper coin and tosses it to you, then disappears belowdecks, shouting: "I'll want that penny back, Revenger!"
Your detour has taken enough time that Helena has already crossed the walkway on the top of the lock and opened the gatehouse door before you even start to tie your own kerchief.

[CullinaneLives]

Westh

"'Course, Dash!" the hadozee chuckles as he moves to the entrance of the gatehouse. "Sorry I'm late. WHOAH! What an incredible smell you've discovered!" Westh chokes through the kerchief.

[Mando Knight]

Helena tries to judge the weight of the handle. She'll use Mage Hand to try to levitate it to her if at all possible (if it's about the size of a warhammer or club, she should be able to...), or else try to levitate the peg holding it out of the wall.

As Westh enters, she nods. "Yeah. Just don't touch the dead guy."

[CullinaneLives]

Westh

"No worries, there," Westh chuckles once more. "Why're you starin' at that so hard?"

[Mando Knight]

"I developed some magic tricks when I was stranded on an island a month or two ago... sorcerer's blood or something... and I figured out how to move some things from beyond my reach with just a few thoughts and gestures."

[CullinaneLives]

Westh

Westh nods. "Nice trick indeed!" He stands back just a bit, but looks around the gatehouse to make sure there isn't anything to worry about or anything else that might be needed. "You just let me know if there's anything you need from me," he says without looking at her.

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Search - (1d20+7)[9] --> Ugh.