Ruins of Azlant IC 2

[u-b]

Laurelata and Henri go to check the sunk boat. It seems to be still in its place. It takes a grapnel, a rope and a number of Marius' men to drag it onshore, disturbing some local life and taking some time, but overall is not that problematic. The boat seems to be mostly intact, so you don't have to have experience with shipbuilding to fix it. If you can do woodwork, you can see how it's done and do it that way.

Meanwhile, Jessica checks with the clerics about procuring the potions. This turns out less than reassuring. One of the clerics can scribe scrolls and the other craft wondrous items, but it is Alba who was supposed to brew potions. There should be some potions in store and every soldier was issued one and there might be some in possession of some other colonists, but you'll have to find out the details and persuade people to sell you those if you don't go through Alba.

Spoiler

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It will take 2 Goods and 6 Labor to fix the boat, a DC 10 carpentry or shipbuilding (trained; rolled or taken) and a few days, depending on how many people will work on it (only one has to be actually trained). If you just ask the colonists to do it, that would cost you 2 Influence spent per 1 Labor gotten.

The hamlet's Base Value is 50, mostly because it's effectively cut from suppliers and people can't count on easy sell-and-restock, but I'd say it's full 200 of healing potions to start with, because that's very useful resource to have across the world, so you can buy up to four potions with no problem at all. After that, it's some Diplomacy (you can spend Influence to affect the check). You can also dedicate yours and replace them with scrolls, but that will only work for regular healing out of combat if someone is still in a condition to read them.

[DarkOne-Rob]

Henri (no last name) Male True Neutral Half-Orc Ranger (Wild Stalker), Level 3, Init 1, HP 18/30, Speed 20 ft AC 18, Touch 11, Flat-footed 17, CMD 18, Fort 7, Ref 6, Will 5, CMB +7, Base Attack Bonus 3 Greataxe +6 (1d12+9, 20/x3) Breastplate (+6 Armor, +1 Dex, +1 Deflect) Abilities Str 18, Dex 12, Con 15, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 7 Condition None

"Good - got it. Who can fix it?" asks Henri of the colonists who helped him dredge it up from the sea floor. "I'll pay..."

Spoiler: Mechanics

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Henri lacks the skills, but if he has access to the Goods he will perform the labor and pay a carpenter to do the skill check...

[farothel]

"I'm a cook, not a carpenter," Laurelata said, "I can provide a meal for those who do the work though. I think we best find someone who knows something about fixing boats. We can help with the work, but we need someone to actually know what's going on."
She would search in the colony for someone who could fix boats and who would be willing to help and checked with this person on what extra help was needed.

Spoiler: OOC

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I have 14 goods and 9 labour (and 5 influence) if I'm not mistaken, so it shouldn't be a big issue to fix the boat. We can help so we need less labour and/or goods.

[Farmerbink]

Jessica leaves her friends not precisely surprised, but a bit disheartened. Still, buoyed by her ineffable optimism, she returns to Alba's home, eager to find a way to encourage the alchemist to contribute to their newest leads. "I know you're eager to have the whole torch thing resolved, and I share your feelings there. In the meantime, what can we do to help you stock up, perhaps in exchange for a few potions that we can then leverage for more information about the oddities we've seen out and about on the island?"

Spoiler: OOC

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Using the 1/day trait for diplomacy: (1d20+13)[21] I guess it's making a request?

[SanguinePenguin]

Taz adds, “I know almost nothing about boats. I do have a lot of supplies stockpiled if they’ll help. I can help though, and I may be able to call in a favor or two as well.”

Spoiler: ooc

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Life has been intense. I also missed that there was a lot of action in the game due to missed forum emails.

According to the doc, Taz has 15 goods, she can give 2 easily. She also has 8 influence, which can get us labor. She can also labor herself I guess.

[u-b]

A small team led by team of two carpenters can fix the boat in three days, two days if you are to help (some processes cannot be accelerated further). You can easily persuade* Ramona to pay for the task.

Alba is... well, not terribly delighted to see Jessica at first, likely because of expecting her to have come to persuade her to do what she has chosen not to. But she gets more interested when Jessica mentions help providing the supplies. And seems surprised with the declared usage for the potions Jessica supposedly needs. She makes some tea and asks Jessica to explain about the potions and their usage to get information somehow(?) while having some tea with cookies. She then declares what she would like in return. It's oil, sulfur and saltpeter. The amount is debatable** and will affect the quantity of potions provided, but Alba is quite willing to onload "a lot".

Spoiler

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*With Influence.

**It is (2 Labor + 3 Goods) per potion (talking spell level 1 caster level 1 potions), up to 10 times over. You don't have to pay for those labor and goods, Alba will, but if you do, you will get twice the number of potions.

[DarkOne-Rob]

Henri (no last name) Male True Neutral Half-Orc Ranger (Wild Stalker), Level 3, Init 1, HP 18/30, Speed 20 ft AC 18, Touch 11, Flat-footed 17, CMD 18, Fort 7, Ref 6, Will 5, CMB +7, Base Attack Bonus 3 Greataxe +6 (1d12+9, 20/x3) Breastplate (+6 Armor, +1 Dex, +1 Deflect) Abilities Str 18, Dex 12, Con 15, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 7 Condition None

Henri notes the help and effort from Taz with a broken, scarred smile. "Thanks," he says quietly as they begin the work.

Spoiler: OoC

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Henri will provide work, but I don't know that he has any stored in the way of either Influence or Goods. Can we begin the two-days of effort, @u-b?

[Farmerbink]

Jessica nods, smiling warmly as she discusses the options with Alba. "He's a curious fellow, to be sure. I'm not entirely positive, but I get the impression he must be much much older than any living thing has a right to be. And still, he carries a kindness about him otherwise totally absent amongst the ruins. Even the strange teacher-statues were so focused on their task as to prove fatal to any but the most intrepid of learners.... I'm quite confident that he would prove an invaluable ally and source of knowledge."

She bids her leave, content with her work as investigator if not negotiator. After checking on Henri and Tazmara, she offers a wan smile. "I can hold things steady if it's helpful, but I bet Ramona can get us some expert help with the details. Let me go check with her."

Spoiler: OOC

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Jessica never invested time nor effort in goods or labor, but she's got some influence to spend. In the immediate, that will be her contribution to the efforts.

[farothel]

Laurelata will also help a bit to get the ship ready, even though she didn't know much about shipbuilding. She would try to get some cooking in and check on the progress of the brewery.

[u-b]

A two-day effort by Taz, Henri and two carpenters, all supported by Laurelata, along with with an expenditure of some pre-existing wood planks, tar and stuff, negotiated by Tazmara, and you have a complete seaworthy boat* that can be rowed by two and optionally additionally steered by one, with some more men as passengers. You could have requested a sail to be fitted**, but that would require some actual skill to operate, so maybe you are better witout it, unless you hire someone.

The colony has no incidents during that time, so at least that- also seems good.

DAY 54 AFTER LANDING

The morning is quite nice, both for rowed seafaring and in general. The strong winds have subsided and don't seem be returning in at least two days, maybe more. What wind there is blows from the west and is weak enough you would have no problem rowing against it, at least in twos.

Spoiler

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*Resources deducted.
**That would be 4 more goods and no extra time.

Jessica (and optionally the others) can spend any amout of their existing influence to supply Alba with stuff. Write it somewhere in here and specify who (you or me) is to modify the sheet. Or you can leave it for later, but then it'll probably take additional time.

[DarkOne-Rob]

Henri (no last name) Male True Neutral Half-Orc Ranger (Wild Stalker), Level 3, Init 1, HP 18/30, Speed 20 ft AC 18, Touch 11, Flat-footed 17, CMD 18, Fort 7, Ref 6, Will 5, CMB +7, Base Attack Bonus 3 Greataxe +6 (1d12+9, 20/x3) Breastplate (+6 Armor, +1 Dex, +1 Deflect) Abilities Str 18, Dex 12, Con 15, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 7 Condition None

"Good enough" says Henri as he surveys the party's efforts with their new boat. "Keep it away from water when not in use," he continues as he thinks through things.

"Want to see the sunken ship?" the half-orc asks his friends, expectantly.

Spoiler: OoC

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I'm still unable to carve out the time to learn how Henri could collect the resources to spend on the boat, but he'd like to get it outfitted for a sail. It would give him something to learn (with his Background Skills) as the party continues to level up.

[Farmerbink]

Jessica nods eagerly. Still outfitted in her simple linen dress, she hikes the skirt high enough to help shove the skiff into the surf without too much trouble. "Might find some answers, or at least something valuable."

Spoiler: OOC

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With 2 castings of air bubble prepared as well as aboleth's lung being dividable-duration-among-targets, we should be able to investigate the sea wreck without worrying about actually dying to drowning. Swimming might be another issue, but we won't drown, at least XD

[farothel]

"Sounds like a plan," Laurelata said, although she wasn't all that happy. They would be quite disadvantaged underwater, breathing or not. At least she had her rapier which was a stabby weapon, something that was still possible underwater. But trying to swing a big axe would be very difficult and her bow would also be useless. She debated not taking it, but they might need it on the way, so she decided to bring it. She would follow the others out.

[u-b]

You expect the journey would take two days one way, and that is if you sail with low but non-negligible skill or do two days of rowing. Do any final preparations and be on your way.

Spoiler

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If you think any of your characters is smart enough or informed enough, or consults with someone who is, please take a look at underwater combat rules. Otherwise, please don't (and it would be a surprise). Make (and state) any final preparations and I'll have you on your way. Please specify who will row through the day, who will watch throught the night, etc, etc. Unless told otherwise, I will assume you'll want to camp before exploring the reef and the sunken ship. Please state if you want to camp in the same spot you were when you first spotted it, in some other place, or you don't really care. Also, I'll want fire/no fire decisions for day 1 and day 2 camps.

[DarkOne-Rob]

Henri (no last name) Male True Neutral Half-Orc Ranger (Wild Stalker), Level 3, Init 1, HP 18/30, Speed 20 ft AC 18, Touch 11, Flat-footed 17, CMD 18, Fort 7, Ref 6, Will 5, CMB +7, Base Attack Bonus 3 Greataxe +6 (1d12+9, 20/x3) Breastplate (+6 Armor, +1 Dex, +1 Deflect) Abilities Str 18, Dex 12, Con 15, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 7 Condition None

Henri gathers his pack and weapons, places them carefully in the little skiff, and settles down with a set of oars. "Can we sail?" he asks as his rough hands grip the wooden handles. For a moment he looks into the middle distance, not really seeing what is in front of him. "Two days - fish meanwhile and cook it tonight..."

Spoiler: OoC

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Henri will bring rations, all his gear, and his weapons. He's used to working hard, so he will row as much as the others allow - he's tough enough to pass most checks regarding fatigue and shouldn't struggle too much.

That said, he's going to be tired and hungry at the end of the day and would comfortably light a fire to cook with as long as they can dig a small pit to hide it from prying eyes, especially water-side. He wouldn't enjoy being attacked by sahuagin overnight. Also, he wouldn't want to be spotted again, so a new campsite makes sense.

If the other PCs will support it, Henri will take the last watch - waking up early and just staying up during day 2.

[farothel]

Before they left, Laurelata would go to the sea and try out a few things to see how things worked underwater while trying to hold her breath. It wouldn't be the same as when they would be able to breathe but it gave a good idea of what it would be underwater.

"I can't sail, but I can fish," she said as she put her stuff in the little boat, "and we can best put a small hidden fire to cook on and then put it out at night."

Spoiler: OOC

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Agree with Henri. I think it's best if he rowed, maybe together with Taz. Unless someone has profession (sail or sailor or something like that)

Taz will probably be our point on this, as she has a swim speed and has the least problems underwater.

Laurelata can take a midnight watch so the ones rowing can sleep in one go. I don't have darkvision, but with a bit of moonlight and low-light vision we can do a lot.
I'm taking my equipment, but I'll see if I can leave my bow when we go underwater. I can't use it there anyway, but I want it with me for above water stuff.

[u-b]

You depart to investigate the sunken ship, Henri does most of the rowing, with the lot of you taking shifts of varying length handling the other oar. The first day's trip is not quite eventful. That is, you see a lot of seagulls, some flying fishes apparently chased by something underwater, some dolphins (not chasing the flying fishes, but on a different occasion) taking a careful interest in your boat, and that's about it. You land for the evening and Jessica has to spend a spell on Henri's hands to make sure the half-orc is able to repeat the feat come tomorrow, but other than that, the evening is uneventful too. You choose a campsite away from the water, but in direct sight of it, because you cannot move the boat far ashore and you do not want to risk losing sight of it. You dig a smallish hole in the ground for the campfire, cook some recently caught fishes, erect a tent and mostly go to sleep. The night goes mostly fithout incident too, until some time before dawn, when Laurelata sees some activity in the water as signalled by the fish jumping out of it here and there trying to escape... more than one something down below? You sort of worry this is closer to the shore than you would expect from a large hunting fish. Otherwise, this seems to be no immediate threat and you watch carefully to make sure your boat is not disturbed (it isn't), pack your camp, eat your breakfast... and the undersea activity seems to be still going on. So you either wait some more or depart anyway or do what...

Besides, good morning.

DAY 55 AFTER LANDING

[DarkOne-Rob]

Henri (no last name) Male True Neutral Half-Orc Ranger (Wild Stalker), Level 3, Init 1, HP 18/30, Speed 20 ft AC 18, Touch 11, Flat-footed 17, CMD 18, Fort 7, Ref 6, Will 5, CMB +7, Base Attack Bonus 3 Greataxe +6 (1d12+9, 20/x3) Breastplate (+6 Armor, +1 Dex, +1 Deflect) Abilities Str 18, Dex 12, Con 15, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 7 Condition None

Sleeping soundly through the night, Henri wakes for his watch and notes that his already-rough hands have largely recovered from the previous day. He nods in silent appreciation and looks out at the little boat, the sea, and then into the darkness. After identifying his partner during this watch he says, "I'll sit in the boat," before walking across the sand to do just that.

Once the others wake he points out the jumping fish. "Something's up. Look first, or go?"

Spoiler: OoC

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I'm for looking and seeing what is threatening the fish before putting the little boat into the water. If it is dangerous we can deal with it first and not risk the vessel.

[u-b]

As Henri gets into the boat, he soon sees a number of (dog-sized) these guys...

...abandoning mucking around and taking an acute interest in his person without going anywhere near melee range. They seem to wait for what Henri would do.

Spoiler

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(1d4+1)[4] of them and make two Knowledge rolls (dungeoneering AND nature)

[farothel]

"Best check it out first," Laurelata suggested as she came closer to the water line to check things out. She noticed the critters.
"What the hell are those?"

Spoiler: OOC rolls

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knowledge nature: (1d20+4)[6]
knowledge dungeoneering: (1d20+7)[18]

[DarkOne-Rob]

Henri (no last name) Male True Neutral Half-Orc Ranger (Wild Stalker), Level 3, Init 1, HP 18/30, Speed 20 ft AC 18, Touch 11, Flat-footed 17, CMD 18, Fort 7, Ref 6, Will 5, CMB +7, Base Attack Bonus 3 Greataxe +6 (1d12+9, 20/x3) Breastplate (+6 Armor, +1 Dex, +1 Deflect) Abilities Str 18, Dex 12, Con 15, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 7 Condition None

"Ugly..." answers Henri as he draws his greataxe and looks at the clawed creatures...

Spoiler: OoC

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Knowledge (Dungeoneering) (1d20+4)[10] (trained)
Knowledge (Nature) (1d20+7)[21]

[u-b]

Laurelata and Henri discuss what they see. The resulting opinion is that these are...
1. Not any natural animals.
2. Most likely some yet another kind of aberration local to these waters.

Laurelata may even have seen it mentioned somewhere, but these sorts of weird creatures are difficult to remember all at once as they vary all over the place. Her semi-informed opinion is that these...
3. As aberrations, may be above animal intelligence, but she is not sure how much above.
4. May be more trouble than their size would suggest, for mainly the same reason as well as the spines and the claws.
5. May or may not be in any meaningful way evil.

[DarkOne-Rob]

Henri (no last name) Male True Neutral Half-Orc Ranger (Wild Stalker), Level 3, Init 1, HP 18/30, Speed 20 ft AC 18, Touch 11, Flat-footed 17, CMD 18, Fort 7, Ref 6, Will 5, CMB +7, Base Attack Bonus 3 Greataxe +6 (1d12+9, 20/x3) Breastplate (+6 Armor, +1 Dex, +1 Deflect) Abilities Str 18, Dex 12, Con 15, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 7 Condition None

"Don't like it. Wait or carry the boat?" Henri asks his companions without taking his eyes off the creatures.

Spoiler: OoC

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My vote is wait, at least a bit. We don't have a strict schedule to keep...

[farothel]

"Wait," Laurelata said, staying on the shore, but taking out her bow just in case, "we have no deadline, so best take our time. As this is something unknown, we best take notes so we can warn others about these."

[u-b]

You wait. The lobster eels... well, they seem to understand that you wait, they do some waiting themselves, seem to get bored before you do, halfheartedly try to provoke you to do something, then finally get lost. Or so it seems. Not being completely sure, you wait some more, then get the boat on the water, then follow the shore line very closely for some time until you finally decide you probably are in the clear. Due to the delay, you are not able to reach your goal on day two, at least, not with enough daytime left to actually do investigations, so you don't push yourselves and set camp. The second night goes without incident and, as importantly, the morning also goes without incident.

DAY 56 AFTER LANDING

The weather still features a weak wind from the west, which should not interfere with your plans if you'll be able to keep your hold on the boat (if not, it will eventually drift into the ocean). In fact, it might be even beneficial, since the island blocks most of the waves. If you depart now, you will be at the ship some time around 11 am. The ship would be easy to locate with the top of the mast still above the water. The reef should not pose a hazard for a small boat like yours, at least not in this kind of weather... so, you can go ahead and execute whatever plan you can come up with?

[Farmerbink]

Jessica rises early on the second day. If she's at all frustrated by the delay, she hides it well, and hums about happily preparing to break both their fast and camp. "Thanks for all the work, Henri. I figure we'd be some ways out yet without you bearing the brunt of it." She offers him a simple tin plate of fresh-seared fish before tidying the mess kit with apparently simple contentment of setting herself to the work.

"So... lobster eels. Seems likely they'll find us again if they found us once. Do we have anything remotely like a plan to deal with them when we're under water? We're bigger than them, but I certainly don't swim that well." She stares into the ocean surf for a few moments, lost in thought, before coming back to her senses.

A few minutes later, as the party is preparing to take off, she calls them all together. "Let me renew my bond with you all, please. It'll be more important than ever if we run into trouble down there."

[farothel]

"We can hook up to the mast," Laurelata said, "and start from there. Should be the easiest I guess. We can do whatever magic we need there and then dive straight in."

[DarkOne-Rob]

Henri (no last name) Male True Neutral Half-Orc Ranger (Wild Stalker), Level 3, Init 1, HP 18/30, Speed 20 ft AC 18, Touch 11, Flat-footed 17, CMD 18, Fort 7, Ref 6, Will 5, CMB +7, Base Attack Bonus 3 Greataxe +6 (1d12+9, 20/x3) Breastplate (+6 Armor, +1 Dex, +1 Deflect) Abilities Str 18, Dex 12, Con 15, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 7 Condition None

Henri smiles at Jessica and thanks her for the food. At the discussion of fighting the lobster-eels he shrugs and gestures to his weapons meaningfully. "I'm ready," he says in response to Laurelata.

Spoiler: OoC

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My vote is wait, at least a bit. We don't have a strict schedule to keep...

[u-b]

You row the boat to the sunken ship's mast and tie a rope to the mast. It seems the ship got carried over some part of the reef, but not over the other part, so it now sits between them at some fairly low depth. It looks something like 20 or 25 feet from the surface to the ship's upper deck. The ship itself seems damaged, but mostly in one piece. It looks unlike modern andoren ships, more resembling a very large boat: there is, and it looks like there should be, only one mast, the single deck covers only part of the ship and so on. You are not much enough into ships to classify and attribute this, but you see that it is different. There are all sorts of fishes inhabiting the reef and the remains of the ship, as well as other marine life. There is also a trident-armed fish-man leving the proximity of the ship and heading north-west. The water is not crystal-clear and reflects the bright sky, so you lose the sight of him fairly quickly and come to no conclusion as to how far he is going to go.

Spoiler

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Henri perception: (1d20+10)[29]
Laurelata perception: (1d20+10)[27]
Tazmara perception: (1d20+8)[26]
Jessica perception: (1d20+3)[9] - you are the only one who've seen nothing

[DarkOne-Rob]

Henri (no last name) Male True Neutral Half-Orc Ranger (Wild Stalker), Level 3, Init 1, HP 18/30, Speed 20 ft AC 18, Touch 11, Flat-footed 17, CMD 18, Fort 7, Ref 6, Will 5, CMB +7, Base Attack Bonus 3 Greataxe +6 (1d12+9, 20/x3) Breastplate (+6 Armor, +1 Dex, +1 Deflect) Abilities Str 18, Dex 12, Con 15, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 7 Condition None

"There - see?" asks Henri as he points to the fleeing fishman. He watches for several moments as he considers his weapons carefully. With an unhappy sigh he stashes his axe and readies a dagger and his spear-like polearm. "Swim? Deep breaths?" he asks the spellcasters as he gets ready to jump into the water.

Spoiler: OoC

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We should be ready for a fight, but I don't know what else to really do to prepare...