Kerluddein (IC)

[Jack_Simth]

Sylvia unhooks her spell components pouch from her belt, and holds it out while talking.

"I can sell it to you if you'd like; I didn't ready any spells that need the components in here, today, and I've got another back with Patches. I won't even make a profit off you; five gold crowns, just like the merchants ask for them."

[rrkkskrrk]

Sylvia
You slip on the wet stone, and make yourself look rather foolish, but suffer no lasting harm.
Kris_Strife

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The poor woman's still dangling there. Make a strength check.

[monty]

Sarah approaches the dock with caution. Although she's wary of crowded places, this seems like as good a place as any to find a job. She slowly makes her way through the crowd, keeping Sam by her side. As she approaches the edge, she notices a couple of people gathered around a rope. Upon closer inspection, it appears they're trying to pull someone around the water.

"Need a hand? Sam, help."

[Kris Strife]

He goes to the edge to see if the underlibrarian has the loop around herself yet. "I've got some help miss, please remain calm." He heads back to Sylvia, giving the new woman a quick nod of thanks. "Yes please. And that would be great. Can I pay you after we rescue her though? Priorities and all." He gives a charming smile, extending a hand palm up.

[Jack_Simth]

Sylvia hands the spell components pouch over as she agrees with the man with the rope. "Ah, yes; certainly. People first, then stuff... and it looks like you have much stronger help than myself; good. Incidentally, you can call me Sylvia; how shall I reference you in conversation?"

[MikelaC]

Lysindra divides her attention between watching the rescue operations and the activity on the ship, trying to get a good look at whatever the special item is.

[Kris Strife]

Larin graciously takes the component pouch, placing it in one of the pockets of his robes before wrapping the rope around his forearm for extra grip. "You were the first to come help and gave me a big help with the pouch. My name is Larin, its a pleasure to meet you Sylvia. Hold on tight miss, we're pulling you up now!" Taking the rope in both hands, he turns so it rises over his shoulder and begins to pull the rope along behind him. (1d20)[2]

[MeklorIlavator]

Michael:

Michael finally see's Lysindra gesture, missing it for a moment when her companion revealed herself, and moves forward, on the other side of her from the dog.
Why not? What's the worse that could happen.
Hello, Michael Ventus at your service. Any idea what's going on here? And why'd you're friend just go off?

[MikelaC]

Lysindra smiles at Michael.

"Well, as for whats going on here, there is supposedly something special arriving on the Lady's Wings this morning, so I just came down to the docks to see what it is. After all, if theres something to made from it, it wont happen if Im not around to see it.
As for my companion, well, I just met her when I was down here, and there seems to be some of trouble that shes helping with. From what I can tell, someone either fell or got pushed off the dock into the water."

Lysindra places a hand on Michael's arm.

"Michael Ventus, you said your name was? Im Lysindra, by the way."

[rrkkskrrk]

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Sorry for the late reply, I've been working on converting the map of the Lady's Wings from one in Dragon Magazine most of today. It'll be posted as soon as I've completed it.
Any appropriate checks for observation welcomed.

Sylvia, Larin and Sarah
You successfully pull the underlibrarian out of the water and up to your level, though most of the actual weight is carried by Sarah. She stands coughing and sputtering in front of the three of you, and has obviously swallowed a lot of seawater, but is otherwise merely wet.

Everyone
The Lady's Wings is fully in port now, and a horde of dockworkers and crewmembers are working along its length to get it tethered and run the gangplanks down. The crane above the forward hold is already latched, but so far no-one's pulling anything up, as they're all working on other things.

[Kris Strife]

Larin coils his rpe back up, walking over to the underlibrarian. "Sorry for the fright miss, didn't think I was that ugly. Lets get you some where away from the water so you can rest for a little." He offers his arm for support and a drink from his waterskin, certain she must be thirsty from swallowing the sea water. "Is there anything I can do to make it up to you? I feel horrible about this..." If she accepts his offer of aid, he guides her away from the dock to the nearest place she can sit.

[monty]

Sarah quickly scans the woman for any signs of injury. "You aren't hurt, are you?" Glancing at the rest of the group, she introduces herself. "My name's Sarah, by the way."

[Jack_Simth]

Sylvia glances around to gauge the crowd's reaction to her flight and the rescue of the drowned lady, attempting to discern the wisdom of using her wings for a better vantage point, now that her plans for blending into the crowd are gone anyway.
"Well, there goes any chance of blending in. Hmm... what's the mood of the crowd...."

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Sense Motive, untrained: (1d20+6)[15]

[rrkkskrrk]

Sylvia

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You don't sense any change in the crowd from before; though your flight may have caused a stir, it seems to have been forgotten about in the anticipation of the ship's cargo being unloaded. Those closest to you are still sneaking glances, but it seems to be no more than idle curiousity now that you're not in the air.

Everyone
Both of the ship's gangplanks have been lowered, and one of the ship's officers is already hurrying down on of them to speak to the hobgoblin waiting at its base. A few hurried words are exchanged, then they both salute and the officer waves back to the men on the ship. The crowd sees only the topmost part of the special cargo before a magical darkness is cast over it, obscuring it from view.

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Spot checks to see details, as usual, or you'll just see what I've just described.
Also, a map of the Lady's Wings so you have an idea of what it looks like.

[rrkkskrrk]

Monty
You happen to be looking the other way at the time that the thing is pulled up, and when you glance back you see nothing but the patch of darkness being lowered onto the deck.

Larin

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You catch a brief glimpse of a large shape rising from the hold before the darkness covers it, and can just make out what might be branches or petrified tentacles on its upper half, but are too occupied with other things to make out any specific details.

Lysindra

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You see everything that Larin sees, but are close enough to pick up on the papery quality of the object's surface and the way that the ends of the many "branches" end in bulges, like a snail's eyes. A quick fluttering movement around one of them suggests that the thing might be still moving, but it's far too small to be sure, and it could equally be wrappings of some kind blowing in the wind.

[monty]

Sarah sighs as she finally notices the darkness. "And here I was hoping to get a look at what was causing all this commotion. Any of you have any idea what it is?"

[Jack_Simth]

"I'll be back in a bit - curiosity is getting the better of me, I think."
Briefly satisfied that the crowd isn't too likely to lynch her, Sylvia flies upwards and tries to use her wings to get a better vantage point on the object.

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Spot: (1d20+10)[23]

[rrkkskrrk]

Sylvia

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You see everything that Lysindra sees in the moments before the darkness covers it, and your vantage point allows you to vaguely make out the shape of the thing from above despite the darkness. It's nearly perfectly circular from where you are, like a giant head. Your eyes flicker to the side as you squint to see closer, and you see several figures emerge from the edge of the darkness and walk down the gangplank ahead of it.

[Jack_Simth]

Sylvia starts ignoring the darkness, and tries to get a good look at the figures who walked out of it, prior to heading back to the rescue point. She then addresses Larin:
"Let's see... I believe there was a little matter of some small recompense for the components pouch. Also, I'm beginning to wonder how much of that package is legitimately wondrous, and how much of it is misdirection."

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Spot: (1d20+10)[24]

[MikelaC]

Lysindra turns to Michael

"Lets go talk to my 'friends', they seemed to be just as interested in whatever that item was, and I got a little bit of a look at it before they dropped that darkness over it."

Lysindra leads the way back to Sylvia.

"I see youve picked up some new acquaintances in my absence."

She turns to the other members of the group.

"My name is Lysindra, and this is Michael Ventis. Since we are all down here trying to find out what that new thing is, why dont we share notes?"

Lysindra then describes what she saw, filling the people in what was in the spoiler.

[rrkkskrrk]

Sylvia

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Hooray for constant suspicion.

All three figures are wearing the garb of a ship's officer - heavy frock coats with a great deal of embroidery - in varying states of disrepair. In the order they walk down the gangplank:
The first figure is nothing out of the ordinary; a tricorne hat and black coat which has been kept neat despite how badly the sea has battered it. He walks far more upright than the other two, and quickly leaves them behind as he hurries down the plank to talk to the hobgoblins.
The second figure is a giant of a man, and balances his tricorne hat on a pair of dark horns protruding from his forehead. His coat is better-kept and better embroidered than either of the other two figures, but shows several patches over bullet holes and sword cuts. His face appears to have undergone similar treatment, as nearly every inch of it is scarred. His skin is a pale green, though this is hardly unusual; you've passed at least ten green-skinned porters in the crowd today, though not with this particular shade. As you watch, he half-turns to shout a command at someone within the darkness (I'll assume you can hear and are listening):
"Keep that steady, mister Able!"
The third figure wears a bicorne rather than a tricorne, though since she wears it slouched back and has let most of it lose its shape it is barely recognisable as one. She walks with a slouch, and her eyes are drooping as if half-asleep. In fact, it looks like if she wasn't guiding herself by a hand on the large man's back she might sway so far as to walk off the side of the gangplank. Her skin is unnaturally pale, and looks clammy even from this distance, giving the impression of either being undead or extremely unwell.
All three are armed with a cutlass and a brace of pistols apiece.

Everyone

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As an aside, how much detail do people want me to go into for these descriptions? I've tried to keep it to what I'd want to read myself from someone else, but of course we all know how much detail DMs and writers love to go into, and I just want to check I'm not flooding you with an excess of prose.

[Jack_Simth]

Sylvia smiles lopsidedly as she replies to Lysindra in kind.

"Nothing quite like dragging a woman from a watery brink to break the ice. But yes, there's definitely something strange going on. I actually watched three people walk out of the special cargo, and overheard a reference which suggests there was a fourth in there under the cover of the darkness. "

Sylvia continues, relaying the description of the three coming out of the circle of darkness.

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I used to read three or four hundred page paperback books in under eight hours. While I'm not quite so much of a bibliovore as I used to be, it's still rather difficult to throw too much text at me.

As an alternate approach, you could also do a summary/detail setup. A spoilered wall of text, and a shorter, main block that hits the highlights but skips the details.

[monty]

Sarah turns to the newcomers. "A pleasure to meet you. My name's Sarah."

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Spot check to see through Lysindra's disguise - (1d20+5)[11]

After hearing Sylvia's description: "Well, I still have no idea what's going on here, but it just keeps getting stranger. This definitely sounds like something worth looking into."

[rrkkskrrk]

If I used Endure Exposure on the librarian, would my breath weapon still dry her clothing off?

Burn it off, if you weren't careful. Might attract a bit of attention, too. But yes, it would.

[rrkkskrrk]

The darkness surrounding the cargo is making its way down the gangplank, and a covered cart winding its way up the increasingly disorganised corridor through the crowds. Whether or not you believe this is an elaborate cover-up or not, it is obvious that a great deal of effort is being put into getting it out of the port and into the city proper.
The ship's officers have disappeared behind the crowd by now, but there is definitely a commotion coming your way as someone forces their way through the crowds towards you.

sidhe_blooded

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I haven't seen you post in a while. Are you still around?

[Jack_Simth]

Sylvia, curious as to what's making a bee-line their way, flies a bit upwards to see about getting a better look at what's coming, and to call Patches over if needed.

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Spot: (1d20+10)[19]
Listen: (1d20+10)[23]
Sense Motive (untrained): (1d20+6)[15]
Handle Animal: auto-success; Patches is trained with Come, and trained tricks are DC 10 - +2 Animal Affinity feat, +4 ranks, +4 circumstance for handling her companion - auto-success.

[rrkkskrrk]

Sylvia:

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You quickly make out the second two officers that Lysindra saw on the gangplank making their way through the crowd. They're moving in the same way that they did before, though the smaller one's sway is distinctly less pronounced. As you fly upwards, the green giant notices you and mutters something back over his shoulder. You strain your ears to hear it over the crowd, but it's a fairly simple phrase:
"Useful, captain?"
The other officer simply nods. You can't tell much about their intentions just from their manner, though they seem to be in quite a hurry to get to you. Or possibly violently elbowing people aside is the accepted way for sailors to get around in Kerluddein, you're not sure.

[Jack_Simth]

Sylvia lands back with the group, choosing not to call Patches over just yet, and gives a short phrase to those who've been accepting who care to listen as she smooths out her clothing.

"It looks like prospective employers from the ship are on their way over to get a closer look."

[Kris Strife]

Larin nods back to her, reaching into his robes and pulling out his coin purse from his robes. He counts out the five gold coins he owes Sylvia and holds them out to her. "My name is Larin, its a pleasure to meet you." Once Sylvia has her gold he turns to the librarian and moves to where she's the only one in front of him. "We need to dry you off before you get sick..." He makes a few arcane motions, speaking in a strange language.
(in Draconic)

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Protect this one from my flames

[Jack_Simth]

Sylvia nods as she takes the cash from Larin.
"Nice doing business with you, although it would be better if we had met under happier circumstances. Still, the damsel's no longer in distress, so things seem to have worked out."