Planejammer: Blue Party IC

[afroakuma]

You are standing around the figurehead of the half-ship in Lost Pirate Square, a busy part of the Grand Bazaar in the Merchant Ward. Finishing up some business, checking up on wares, replenishing your supplies after your very first mission with the Wayfinders.

The Square teems with the endless variety of beings common to the trade wards, entities from all walks of life, death and states between. Over in a nearby alley, two shadowy, animalistic creatures converse with a tiny, frost-coated fey creature while a pair of humanoids look on. Over at the Rorty Cube Pub, a pair of humans sit with a rocky dwarflike creature and a pixie, while a snake covered in tattoos of manuscript pages clings to the lamppost. At a smokepowder emporium, a tall black-and-white humanoid chats to a radiant halfling and a vicious-looking minotaur while two more humans (they're everywhere, aren't they?) examine various arquebuses. Two half-celestials, one elven and one human, examine the signposts to Radical Avenue while a squat baatezu, an armored pixie and an orcish creature order food from a vendor.

As you consider your future employment opportunities at the Wayfinders, you feel a convulsion ripple through you from head to toe. You are not alone; every being around you seems to have felt it, and Sigil itself begins to bow outwards, bulging visibly as though a tumor had formed in reality at the center of the Square.

Greasy bluish mucus spurts from a point in the bulge as a tear forms in reality, causing you to grimace in pain as you feel the stings of ten thousand needles in your mind. A clawing appendage widens the rent, spilling a torrent of black eyeballs across the plaza. As the crowd recoils in horror and disgust, the bugling, seeping wound in the fabric of Sigil ejects a monstrosity into the Square, like a terrible birthing by a mother fearing her own spawn.

The creature lashes feebly with its limbs as it shudders and seizes. You feel pain with every sense that can experience the creature; its odor burns your nostrils, its sounds claw at your eardrums, the bleeding, foreign glyphs lacerating its aberrant form bringing tears to your eyes.

Suddenly, a trio of dabus float in through the crowd, followed by a parting to let through the Lady of Pain. She hovers silently towards the inchoate thing, ignoring the screams, sobbing and retching of onlookers, and stares at it without expression.

If at all possible, the creature seems to "stare" back. As a growing crowd of dabus swells around the Lady, avoiding the reach of the abomination's spiked appendage, years seem to pass in terrible silence. A conversation removed from the reaches of understanding, or a master philosopher studying an insect? The spectacle is fascinating and perverse, and chills you for its incomprehensibility.

Finally, the thing's supporting limbs give way underneath it, and the Lady's shadow sweeps over it, causing the monster to erupt in a fountain of fuming ichor. You wince as some of the mess sprays in your direction, but this is not the end, for now the crowd is pressing in a new direction, the same direction you were planning to head. The Lady of Pain is floating down Radical Avenue, towards the Wayfinders' Guild, and you follow the flow of traffic as everyone rushes to see what fallout will arise from the strange event.

The dabus have gone ahead, as have several runners, so Guildmaster Wey is there at the gates when the Lady arrives. He seems as anxious as the crowd, now. The Lady looks at the guildhouse, spares a glance for the guildmaster, then casts her shadow over the great stone doors. Giant letters appear in the Common language, as though carved by a large and vicious blade:

"TELL THEM ALL"

[AJ_Impy]

Pomjmur

A pleasant enough day in this particular great planar nexus: A successful run for a new employer was always satisfying, although the desire to have another go, to seek out new places, new civilisations, new targets, that was irrepressible.

Still, not all new sights were welcome: Tearing through into what was was something that was not, could not, should not, must not be! The Hippo-man winced as the affront to reality unfurled before them, his instincts kicking in as he unlimbered the huge arquebus in the face of this eye-watering, mind-searing monstrosity.

However, before any action could be taken, the gun dropped from his nerveless, stumpy fingers, falling harmlessly back to be held by the lanyard over his shoulder. The Lady! It took a lot to unnerve a Giff, but the supreme power in Sigil definitely counted. He stood, enrapt, at the standoff between the abomination and she who must not be worshipped. The conclusion was in many ways inevitable, the trespass undeniable. what happened next, now that was something else.

As with the crowd, he watched as the procession advanced upon the guildhouse. That's a shame, he thought, I suppose we'll have to find a new employer now. What actually transpired set him aback: An actual written command from her? Who were 'them' exactly? Either way, something big, something massive, was in the offing, with opportunity and danger in equal measure sure to be a part of it. The sniper relimbered his weapon and muscled his way forward, wanting to see what happened next...

[Matar]

Aldin

Last mission went well enough, all things considered. Despite having no idea how Sigil worked, or really, how any of what was going on around him worked. Still, not everything was different. He already learned that two things are exactly the same as they are on the Prime.

Those two things being: Anything can be killed, and that there are people willing to pay you good money to see that it happens.

Well, that's what he thought anyways. Then he saw The Lady and realized that just might not be true. Of course, his ship-mates had told him about her. The All-Powerful Lady of Pain. He just never believed it. Their tales were simply far too grand to be true.

Well, seeing is believing.

Aldin glanced over at the... thing that spawned in the center of the Square. He hadn't felt pain in years yet this monster made him feel it in ways he didn't think possible.

Sighing softly he grabbed the Scythe by his side and followed after his Giff friend. Might as well pretend to have some idea about to do...

[2xMachina]

Fash Falath

The spelljamming trip... was interesting. It was unlike his other adventures, and has given him somethings new to learn.

Suddenly, reality seems to warp, and deposits a thing unlike any he has seen. It's existence seems to be an affront to his senses. Through the pain, he vaguely remembers that this is a symptom of a Far Realm thing. Exactly what, he's not sure, but he tries to draw from his memory of reading obscure books.

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(1d20)[4] +15 for Arcana/Dungeoneering/Localyeah, right/Nature/Religion/Planes/Psionic. +11 for Wildspace/Spelljamming/Planetology

Suddenly, The Lady arrives and dispatches it after a stare down. She moves off in the direction of the guild, and reluctantly, he follows.

As they reached the guild, he sighs. "So much for hope that it wasn't the Wayfinders she's heading for"

Seeing the words, he is confused. "Tell them all? What does that mean?" he thinks aloud.

[afroakuma]

Fash Falath

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You think it might be a blue dragon. Why you'd think that, I don't know, because it's not blue...

(Yes, I am going to be silly with every single failed Knowledge check)

[Eldan]

Draka

The catman never completely relaxes, his leg muscles remain tense, the needle-like sword over his back always ready. As the... thing intrudes into Sigilian reality, his blue eyes light up, one hand at the sword which almost seems to leap into his hand on its own, one hand raised with three fingers outstretched, forming the first sign of a spell. He jumps forward, blade drawn, as he sees the figure of the Lady and stumbles a few steps backward, his hands now forming the sign of the blades.
He follows the others, and the Lady, back to the guildhouse.

[Matar]

Giving a cautious glance at his Giff friend Aldin speaks up, hopefully loud enough to be heard over the massive crowed that has gathered.

"So... what the hell is going on?"

Looking over to where The Lady carved the words "TELL THEM ALL" Aldin could only shake his head in confusion. These sort of matters were way the clueless Primers head. He wasn't a fool, of course, and he had killed quite a few people who thought he was. However, this whole... thing made no damn sense.

[AJ_Impy]

Pomjmur

High up on the head of the massive hippo-man, ears twitched as the voice of his undead crewmate filtered through the hubbub of the crowd.Turning to look down at Aldin, he replied,

"If I had to guess, I'd say whatever the nine hells that thing was somehow forced its way into Sigil, the Lady of Pain dealt with it, and now wants the Wayfinders' guild to 'Tell them all'. Who 'They' are and what 'All' constitutes... whatever it is is probably above my pay grade. Let's go find out..."

He tried to work his way forward, leaving a space for his associates to follow.

[Eldan]

Draka

"Stop guessing. Act."
Snarling for a second, the cat man leaps forward, towards Guildmaster Wey, lowering his sword as he approaches.
"So. Tell us, then. And loudly, so that everyone can hear it."

[CaCO3]

The Lost Pirate Square was bustling with activity, as was usually the case (well, usually as far as he could tell, being a fairly recent visitor to Sigil), Ceodor thought to himself as he scanned the surroundings carefully, the yellow eyes of a hawk ever watchful. His companions were conducting business in the square; he had just done so a few moments earlier. The City of Doors did not often give itself to displays of aspects of nature (indeed one could even remark such occurrences were rare), and he sometimes felt a little uncomfortable. His leopard companion, Bucky, was resting in the space underneath his perch.

He winced when he saw the greyish mucus spraying from the rend in reality; he grimaced when the sensation of a thousand, no, ten thousand needles stabbing at his entire being sprayed into his mind. When the being appeared, his first thought was, amidst all the chaotic sensations:

This is something very wrong. Aberrant to the laws of nature.

Frozen in place both by the indignation of seeing such a creature appear in the City of Doors and by the myriad of feelings assaulting his facilities, he watched wordlessly as the Lady of Pain descended upon the horror and dispatched it in an instant.

As the ruler of Sigil moved towards the Wayfarers' Guild and giant letters appeared, he thought it prudent to follow in the footsteps of the surrounding crowd, making a mental note to perhaps ask questions to others about this event. The letters in Common on the doors of the Guild fascinated him, its meaning unknown.

As he moved forward Guildmaster Wey, he saw that one of his other traveling companions, a catfolk named Draka, had already approached the man, and so retreated backwards again, hovering in the air above the crowd. He spotted the Giff, Pomjmur, and the undead weaponsmaster, Aldin, among the throngs of humanoids (and non-humanoids) as well. Fash Falath, he could only assume, was somewhere nearby.

[afroakuma]

A new cloud of dabus forms around the Guildmaster and the Lady as he tries to get clarification regarding the new decoration gouged into his front doors. Several local Cagers start interpreting the rebuses hanging in the air, and more than one starts transcribing. The Lady moves towards the entrance, with the Guildmaster and her floating entourage in tow, and the crowd of Cagers and guildmembers follows at a "safe" distance.

The thick press of the crowd is so severe that you are unable to enter the main guildhall, though you observe Avery Wey talking frantically at the Lady and see fragments of stonework fly as she begins "scribbling" on the guildhouse walls. The sounds within grow more furious and involved as a burst of activity sends streams of beings rushing out of the building, including an eyewing and a curious spherical creature with wings. You move with the surging crowd until you reach the planejammer hangars above, where several guild crews are looking at spacing contracts.

A few minutes later, Avery Wey arrives from below, looking harried. He regains his composure and charisma, gathering the assembled guildmembers around him as he unrolls a large scroll.

"The Lady is going to be keeping us busy for quite some time, I fear," he begins. "Seven planets in powers-know-where that need checking up on for powers-know-why, and three planejamming ships seized by the arcane, of all things, within the past week; all ours, I should point out... and oh yes, also we have to retrieve a key of some sort from a reigar, which won't be difficult in the least. And the arcane are after that as well." He sighs, then continues. "Also, Her Serenity bade us watch for any stellar disturbances of unknown properties. We've had reports in the past week or so of several on the main flows between Realmspace, Krynnspace and Greyspace, and there are probably others."

The Guildmaster leaves for his office, letting his aides post the list of the Lady's commands above the existing contracts. Some of the hubbub below has died down and non-guildmembers have thinned, making it possible to descend.

[2xMachina]

Fash Falath

He looks for his team mates. So, which job should we take? Perhaps one of the existing ones and not The Lady's? *laughs*

After that, he heads to the list to read, and tries to memorize it.

OOC EDIT: Blergh, roll fail

[2xMachina]

Knowledge roll:

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curious spherical creature with wings:
(1d20)[12]
+15Arcana/Dungeoneering/Local/Nature/Religion/Planes/Psionic. +11Wildspace/Spelljamming/Planetology
BTW, Planetology and Planes... doesn't it sound similar? But it's different?

Autohypnosis to memorize list:
DC 15, retry till success.

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(1d20+2)[12]
(1d20+2)[19] Pass
(1d20+2)[14]

[Eldan]

Draka

Draka does not even pause before he states, in a tone that makes it clear that for him, the answer is obvious and the only one possible:
"We'll go and survey new spheres. The Cadence is strong in the unknown.""
He then turns around and, after sheathing his sword, starts to shove and wriggle through the crowd of gathered guild-members to get close enough to the list to read details of the posted contracts.

[AJ_Impy]

Pomjmur

The Giff looks at the list thoughtfully, weighing up each option against the capabilities of their stalwart band. Stubby, potatolike fingers brushed the underside of his massive chin, and he concluded,

"I'd say our best bet is getting that key, or checking out some or all of those seven worlds. This is not a decision to be rushed into without thought, after all."

He looked to the undead and the hawk, pondering their opinions.

[Eldan]

Draka

The catman spins around, cocking his head to one side to look up at the giff towering over him, a fanged grin on his face.
"Quite the opposite! It's a decision to spend not a second of thought on! The longer we wait, the likelier it becomes that the others take away our mission! Trust your intuition a little!, it won't fail you."

[2xMachina]

OOC

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Huh, so it appears we haven't moved from the list?

After a while, the gnome turns away from the list.

"But we should get more information first. I'm heading down to see what The Lady 'scribbled'. And maybe try to gather some information from the others.

By the way, where shall we register our interest of the missions anyway? Guildmaster Wey? That at least we need to know."

[CaCO3]

After a second of hesitation, Ceodor decided that it would be a good idea to check up on the planets rather than survey the space between the realms. He agreed with the Giff not necessarily because he agreed that they should decide slowly (indeed it was probably a better idea to choose the first mission that they thought were suitable), but he did agree with the fact that they had to think.

"I think that Pomjmur is somewhat correct. It would be beneficial for us to at least devote some amount of thought to which mission we are choosing instead of just rushing into the decision. However, I think we need to decide quickly as well, because as Draka has helpfully outlined, we want to take one of the missions before others do."

"On the topic of which missions we take; I think that visitations to some or all of the seven worlds would be a better course to pursue."

Acknowledging Fash's statements, he nodded slightly in the gnome's direction.

"That would indeed be most helpful."

[Matar]

"You're both right." Aldin turns his milky white eyes towards the Giff and Catman. "We should hurry up and get our mission and discus everything on our ship. No reason to wait around contemplating things that we might not understand regardless."

[AJ_Impy]

Pomjmur

Looking down at the instinctual cat man, the Giff raised a thick-skinned brow above a beady eye and commented,

"That's two for the seven worlds. Want to make it a majority, if your instincts favor a quick decision?"

[CaCO3]

"It would be good for us to hurry; we can discuss which mission we wish to take after we remind ourselves exactly how."

Shrugging, Ceodor took off into the air and headed towards one of the aides that were posting the lists, stopping about ten feet before Avery Wey and alighting onto the ground again.

"Greetings. My memory is somewhat rusty; we would like to take one of the missions. Could you remind -" At this point he both motioned towards his compatriots and motioned for his compatriots to come to him - "us the procedures for taking a mission? It would be much appreciated."

[2xMachina]

I'm fine with the planets or the key. I'll look for you guys after I find something out. I'll leave the registration to you.


The gnome heads down into the Guildhouse to see what he information he can gather. He reads the scribbles and tries to talk to people there to see if he can get any information from them.

OOC

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Depending on what skills is needed
Diplo: +12
Gather Info: +5
Intimidate: +10

[AJ_Impy]

Pomjmur

With Fash Falah headed down to investigate the carvings and Ceodor handling registration, Pomjmur nodded to the hawk to proceed on his behalf and headed towards the Planejammer fleet. They were going to need a reliable one to get the job done, and so he tried to reserve the best he could.

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Profession: Spelljammer Crew +10 to try and find the best available vessel.

[Eldan]

Draka

"Yes, yes. I already said so. Spheres, Planets, same thing. Let's just go get a mission, can we? This city makes me nervous."

[afroakuma]

Fash Falath

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You recognize the flying creature as a monodrone, a low-ranking modron, likely flying off to report to a superior.

You memorize the list.

A gruff, four-armed reave in a guild uniform leans over from a nearby desk. "That would be me," he humphs, "as you'll be needing a charter ship for any of these."

Three of the planet-checking postings get snapped up before you can blink, leaving the new offerings as follows:

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• Survey team to locate the planet Achresis, suspected to be in roaming orbit in Heartspace.
• Explorer team to travel to Thaoul in Tyrspace and examine (from safe distance) the vortex core for anomalies.
• Hunting team to locate a derelict neogi fleet in orbit around the supposed fourth satellite of H'Catha in Realmspace and eliminate any survivors.
• Locate the comet known as Scour, presently suspected to be within Siberyspace, then backtrack along its route checking for follower bodies.

• Locate the Atalor reigar family and obtain "the key" from them.

• Surveying teams required to search out interstellar disturbances in the Radiant Triangle and report back with research findings.

[Eldan]

Draka

Shoving his way through the crowd at (theoretically) great speed, Draka moves up to the board, and rips one of the postings off: the one about Neogi, then turns back to his comrades.
"We'll take this one, the rest is too uneventful. Let's go."

[AJ_Impy]

Pomjmur

Turning briefly back as the unthinking one grabs a posting, he looks over it then nods, gruffly.

"Seek out new places, find new people, blast their backsides back to the Abyss. Looks promising to me."

He smiles broadly, patting the butt of his shouldered arquebus, and heads over to charter the best ship he can.

"Ho there, Captain! We need passage for five to parts unknown, around H'Catha in realmspace. We can crew and guard as needed."

[afroakuma]

The captain at the desk gestures towards Draka, who hands over the contract. He skims it for a moment, then checks a nearby abacus on a wall, before taking out a thin black and gold disc and sealing the contract with it. He takes your names, writes them on a docket and slides contract and folder into a slot on the wall, alphabetized in Common. He then retrieves a sheath of papers and passes them to Draka; at a glance, they appear to be more detailed instructions regarding the job.

"We'll garnish your contract for the charter helm's use," he says. "You'll have to return here upon completion, at which time you'll be paid out in full less the cost of the helm rental."

He indicates a black ship nearby with ribbed blue sails and trailing, curtainlike wings, sending a small crew nearby scurrying to get it in order. "This here is a refitted Abyssal scavenger. Minor charter helm, top tactical speed of 60 spacial units fully cranked. Note the piercing ram; it's reinforced, but I still suggest you save it for emergencies. That's spacer talk for 'never'. Minimum crew you'll need is four, though it can carry eight or ten. Durable material, straight from the Abyss, but again, that ram is for emergencies. Two ballistas on half-turret, complement of nasty hooks that I'd save for a trained pilot's hands, and this shrieker weapon. I can let you have it for ten days; after that, the helm's going to die and that's all she wrote."

"We've a planejamming rift to Realmspace that exits near Garden. I can let you have a local pilot if you haven't anyone suitable, but his pay will be out of your contract."

[AJ_Impy]

Pomjmur

Whilst it was widely known 'jammer lore that Giffs couldn't pilot, Pomjmur was an experienced crewman, and ran the rule over their new vessel. He scrambled up the rigging onto the vessel with a speed and grace that belied his bulk, and was soon running a practiced eye over the ballistae, ram, hooks and shrieker. He shared his kind's love of weaponry, and bearing in mind their task would require assaullting Neogi hulks, he really wanted to make sure these were up to snuff.

After the weaponry, he checked out the wings and sail, the rigging and hull integrity. They only had her for ten days, but any point of failure could leave them unacceptably stranded. The antrhopomorphic hippo's instincts were to be as thorough as possible: There was too much as stake to risk on a ship that wasn't shipshape.

OOC:

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(1d20+10)[17] Profession 'jammer crew to run the rule over the ship.

[Matar]

Aldin

Having no damn idea as to what he should be doing right now Aldin decided to just make his way to his Giff friend. He examined the ship with his milky white eyes before asking a very important question.

"So, can we do this or do we need to hire an extra hand?"