Adventurer's Guild Team Dingo IC

[Daryk]

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I was thinking we stopped for Althea to remove her armor, but it doesn't matter too much whether we did or not. The important thing is we're moving now.

[Bonecrusher Doc]

All right, it looks like [Ulysses], Althea, and Durx are going to get supplies. Marko and [Omoris] will [keep marching alongside the galley].

Ian
I'll be going back to the guildhall, but...I'm staying there. I have some...personal reasons that I must stay in Bridgeport. Besides, this is a matter of haste and it will be difficult enough finding passage for five people upriver. I'll tell Bruce about everything for you, and I can also take anything you want to leave behind back to the guildhall with me if you prefer to travel light, though you might want to give it to somebody else if you're going to want it, in case you find a boat or some horses or something. Oh, and I'll try to get in touch with Kata's musicians and communicate to them what has happened.

Ian gathers any equipment that anyone wants to leave behind and, after everyone else departs, will trudge back to the guildhall.

[ArtifexFelicis]

"Sorry, I thought someone was going to watch the boat for now." Althea explained curtly, more then hinting at Durx.

Althea fumed silently after that, putting her armor back on. A dozen complaints and jibes were ready to make themselves known, but she stifled them. Now, or ever really, was not the time to be making an enemy of the towering cleric. Though the barbarian was certain she could fight and win, the man was still good. There was no reason to harm him, or even raise a fist. She put the armor back on as they walked, slipping it back over so it fit her feminine form. She did the same for the greatsword, thanking Ulysses as she took it from him.

"I'm ready, let's get this over with. Wasting time won't help us much at all," Althea said aloud, double checking her greatsword's sheath. She nodded at Ian as well. "If you can, try and get one of the wizards to try and tell us if you find Kata's friends, or something like that. I don't think it would be that tough for them to send a message with magic."

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Yay for conflict. And don't be surprised if Althea wants to spar with Durx later

As for running, assume that Althea will keep pace with the top speed of the others. After all, a hustle for her is almost as slow run for you two

[souldoubt]

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As for running, assume that Althea will keep pace with the top speed of the others. After all, a hustle for her is almost as slow run for you two

My thoughts exactly. I think Durx and Ulysses both have the Relentless trait, which should help if we need to make any checks to keep from taking nonlethal damage or whatever. And for Althea the pace won't be nearly as strenuous, so (hopefully) we should be fine.

[Bonecrusher Doc]

"If you can, try and get one of the wizards to try and tell us if you find Kata's friends, or something like that. I don't think it would be that tough for them to send a message with magic."

Ian (as he jogs off towards the Bridge, bound for the guildhall)
"I'll do that."

[Shades of Gray]

Durx gets to the hall first.

He looks at Eldon No time to explain. Althea and Ulysses will take care of it..

St. Cuthbert, give me the strength. Give me the strength to pursue evil Give me the power to destroy injustice. Give me the strength to move mountains, to uproot trees.

Give Me The Strength

Durx's eyes glow pure white. He doubles in size. He picks up the supplies an easily. He picks up two armfuls of supplies. And rushes into the street.

outta my way!

He rushes back to the group. I assume he gets there with no trouble (After all, the only thing scarier than a 7ft. tall man is a 14ft. tall man )

[Bonecrusher Doc]

While Durx was rushing about, Ian explained the situation to the guild officers. Immediately concerned, Lankin threw a bag of trail rations on top of the pile Durx was carrying, while Bruce let the team know,

Bruce
"If necessary I can call in a favor and get a halfling fisherman I once lobbied for to take you as far as Midford...there are some perks to being a politician, after all. Won't be very fast, but better than walking. I wish we could get you some horses but the coffers are running low, and I don't think anyone would let you borrow a horse rather than purchase it."

[ArtifexFelicis]

"Actually, I think Ulysses can get that, talk ser knight," Althea smirked at Ulysses. She had calmed down a bit in the run. It felt good to have something to do, even if the situation was far from good. She rushes in quickly, collecting her own travel kit, mostly a small pad of paper with some pencils. She picked up her extra belt, stuffing it and the kukri that it was apart of into the bag. While returning, she quickly grabbed some flint and tinder as well, and a blanket that fit into her backpack snugly, A minute later, and she was back down near the entrance of the guildhall again, holding a bag of trail rations as well as a waterskin in it.

"I'm ready when you are Ulysses," Althea commented. She held her bag of supplies in her arms easily. Even with all the extra weight, she was far from encumbered by it. "Can we get that boat or no?"

[souldoubt]

"Grab my pack for me, if you would," he entreats Althea as she heads for the stairs. He briefly describes the distinct appearance of his Colossian militia pack, with its oil-treated hood to keep the rain and snow out in the wet, hilly climes of Caulbrook.

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I'm going to assume that Althea obliged and snagged Ulysses's bag when she went to get her stuff.

Ulysses turns back to Bruce, thanking him and gathering the relevant information about the halfling fisherman, his name and where they could find him.

"Can we get that boat or no?"

"We can get it," he responds to Althea's question, taking his pack from her with a nod of thanks. Then he turns to the Guildmaster again. "How fast is the craft, by the way? We're looking to catch up with these kidnappers, not to continue to fall behind them."

Though I suppose we don't have much choice in the matter if this is our only option for transport...

[Bonecrusher Doc]

Bruce writes a note asking a certain fisherman for passage for the adventurers and seals it, giving it to Ulysses.

Bruce
"It's just an old fishing boat, I'm sure it will be slower than that craft you described to me with all the oars, but it will be free. It's probably best that Ian stays here - that fishing boat is not very big.
"One other thing you could do - if you go to the docks, you could hire a cart that you could carry you up the river road. But that might be kind of expensive, and I'm not sure what they'll have available. If all they have are carts drawn by oxen, you'd be better off walking."

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I was looking at the DMG, and their definition of a "galley" is a bit bigger than what I had in mind. I think the boat that Finde and Kata and the two guys in guard uniforms escaped in would only have 12-20 oarsmen plus a few other guys to control the sail, a guy at the rudder, and a guy in charge.

[ArtifexFelicis]

Althea sighed at Bruce's description of the ship. The galley was not one that seemed to be going slowly, and this fishing vassal seemed to be even slower. Still, it would be better than merely walking for some time, or at least it should. The boat didn't really need to rest if its crew was smart. The girl cursed under her breath as she though.

"Should be try and take the boat? Even if it is slower, we'll be able to get off on either side of the river. If we don't then they could lose us the moment they decide to disembark on the other side. We should be able to tell when they lleft though, I think we ought to take it. The cart wouldn't be that much better then walking."

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OOC stuff, just assume Althea will follow Ulysses.

[souldoubt]

Ulysses nods gravely in response to Bruce, rolling over the limited options in his mind. He thanks the guildmaster and turns to leave, motioning his companions to follows.

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I'm assuming Bruce told us where to find this fisherman and his boat? If he's at the docks, then I want to swing by wherever it is we'd hire a cart from, assuming it's convenient. If it's at all out of our way, then Ulysses will head straight for the fisherman and his boat.

I was looking at the DMG, and their definition of a "galley" is a bit bigger than what I had in mind. I think the boat that Finde and Kata and the two guys in guard uniforms escaped in would only have 12-20 oarsmen plus a few other guys to control the sail, a guy at the rudder, and a guy in charge.

A keelboat then; pg. 132 of the PHB. It's basically a river galley (though capable of sea voyages).

Unfortunately, they don't have any kind of boat that would be the equivalent of a fishing boat. It's always irked me that the rules have a noticeable lack of any watercraft in between the size of a rowboat (~10 ft long) and a keelboat (min. 50 ft long). Seems like a glaringly large gap to me.

[Daryk]

Marko

Marko was able to maintain a remarkably good pace with Omoris, though not quite as fast as his magically boosted speed.

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Marko's move is 30'. Have we managed to catch and/or pass the "galley"? If/when the fishing boat catches up to Marko and Omoris, please wave!

[ArtifexFelicis]

Althea followed Ulysses, saying goodbye to Bruce as they began to make their way towards the docks.

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I'm going to assume that we have made it to the docks easily enough. As well, I think it is only ser knight and barbarian lass there at the moemnt, as Durx went running full tilt to the other guys. Feel free to god-mod Althea just following Ulysses for now. He's the talker after all.

[Sledge_bro]

*Huff* I hope the others will *huff* get here soon!

[Bonecrusher Doc]

Durx causes quite a stir as he hurries back to Omoris and Marko as fast as he can go - a couple of guards start to reach for their weapons, but hesitate - both from fear and from the appearance that the 14-foot tall monster is not about to harm anyone, and Durx strides away before anyone can think to shout "Halt!" He is still a ways off from catching up with his companions when the spell wears off and he staggers under the weight of his burden, but he shouts and Omoris and Marko run back, distribute the load, and the three of them catch up with the boat and fall into a steady march again. The going is pretty rough along the narrow and uneven path along the west bank of the river. Durx is tired, and a few of the old trees that have not been cut down have large roots that protrude so high above the ground that Marko must pick up his feet quite high to walk among them. The boat is in the middle of the river, oars dipping and rising in a smooth rhythm. The adventurers can see the two uneasy horses on the deck being held firmly by the men in guard uniforms, who are standing. There is no sign of Kata or Finde.

Ulysses and Althea head South towards the Docks, then cut West across the Great Bridge, then turns South again. They follows Bruce's instructions to wharf made of scrapwood where, sure enough an older halfling is cleaning his fishing boat. having already sold the morning's catch. They present Bruce's letter to the halfling, who opens and reads it.

Halfling Fisherman
"Ah, it's my pleasure to help your guildmaster. If it weren't for him pleading my case to the Council of Guilds, I would have lost this boat. Quickly on board now, and we'll try to think of a way to pick up your friends along the bank.

The fisherman whistles sharply, and an adolescent halfling girl bearing a family resemblance to him pops her head up from the other side of the gunnel of the open boat, a half-finished rope splice in her hands. He speaks a quick sentence to her in the halfling tongue, and she drops what she is doing and hustles about preparing the small open boat for departure and the fisherman and his two guest climb aboard.

Fisherman
"Ah, where are my manners? I am Daros, and this is Darla. Hold on now!"

The small vessel rocks and shudders in the waves of the ocean coast as the two halflings perform a carefully choreographed procedure of bringing the boat away from the wharf and tacking into the wind until they turn north up the Timber River, passing a city guard boat at the mouth of the river. With skillful use of the sails, Daros and Darla manage to defeat the current and start creeping up river, though they are challenged in keeping the nose of the little craft pointed upstream, knowing that if they get turned around they will be swiftly carried back to the sea. Daros directs Ulysses and Althea to a pair of long oars, which they set in oarlocks and put to use. They make more headway now, and eventually see the boat containing Finde and Kata cutting through the water far ahead of them, and three small figures moving alongside it on the west bank that could only be Durx, Omoris, and Marko.

Fisherman
"I don't know how we're going to pick them up - there are too many rocks and tree roots close to shore for me to take the boat up close."

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I guess technically one could call this corruption if a political official is receiving transportation favors as a result of his political actions. But that's just the way things work in Bridgeport. Also did I get everyone's location right?

[souldoubt]

The problem of reaching their companions on the shore is one that strains Ulysses wits. He frowns. "Could they maybe swim out to us, if we pulled in as close as possible?"

He waves to the landbound half of the group, hoping someone else will have a better idea of what to do.

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Since they know that we'll be coming up the river in a boat, I'm assuming they're keeping an eye out and won't have any trouble spotting us or seeing Ulysses wave to them.

[Daryk]

Marko

Marko waved back to Ulysses as he picked his way along the bank, dodging roots as best he could. Seeing the others with a boat of their own set the gears of his gnomish mind in motion with thoughts of a sea anchor to slow the other vessel. Attaching it would be a problem, but some stout canvas and light chain or heavy rope would do for the construction. Thinking of problems, he realized there was no easy way to get between the shore and the fishing boat. He and Omoris would be able to swim easily enough, but Durx and his heavy load would probably just sink to the bottom.

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Does the other boat have anything visible a sea anchor could be reasonably attached to (at night, by a certain gnomish sailor)?

[ArtifexFelicis]

The oars were surprisingly tough to keep going after a while, but Althea got into a rhythm as she worked with Ulysses. They made good time, coming into view of their companions and also of the ship they were chasing. She looked at the land locked others, trusting the two halflings to hold the boat well while she stopped rowing for a moment.

"Durx would sink though, so that wouldn't work, I like the big guy," Althea responded to Ulysses. She turned towards Daros as she thought. "There anyplace nearby where we would be able to pick them up? Just a safer place or something?"

"Actually," Althea's face brightens at this idea. "Is there anyway to stop the boat? I'm pretty sure if we can use a crossbow or something to fire a rope over, they all can come over to this side without losing their supplies."

[Shades of Gray]

Whew, huh, ugh. eh.

Durx stands with his hands on his knees, tired.

Whew, I think I need to sit down.

He sits against a wall. he drops his mace and shield.

If I have time I can pray to m'lord for a mist spell, that would slow the'down so they couldn't continue. I could also get a c'mmand spell to try t'get them t'stop, how'ver that usually isn't reliable. All I c'do now is bless a weapon and do other minor spells that wouldn't be useful.

[Sledge_bro]

I thought I had a solution to our problem Marko. Using the mystical force obad-hai has granted me, I could summon and animal that could ferry us across.The problem is The ones that I know of are either too small or too feirce to summon..

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ooc: GAH! I omoris spent more time by the seaside instead of in the forest, he could have summond a porpoise that marko could have talked into taking us across. Darn fluff vs crunch!

[Shades of Gray]

Too bad, I could have summoned a creature s'well, however I used my spell to heal Kata instead. Although my summons'oly last six sec'nds anyway.

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I'm pretty sure the porpoise would only last six seconds.

[Bonecrusher Doc]

"Is there anyway to stop the boat? I'm pretty sure if we can use a crossbow or something to fire a rope over, they all can come over to this side without losing their supplies."

Daros
"There should be a still spot there just ahead of your friends, behind that finger of land projecting into the river where the bend starts. We could take the sail out of the wind there and probably still hold the boat fairly steady, plus or minus ten feet forwards or backwards, just using the oars and rudder. It's about twenty feet from shore. I've got plenty of rope here but no crossbow. I've also got various fishing nets and an anchor on a rope if that does any good."

Darla
"If they had a little rowboat they could come out to us and climb aboard or else be towed, though that would be slow going. Perhaps somewhere on the bank ahead someone will have a a rowboat?

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Adventurers both on the boat and on the shore - let me know what kind of things you need (like rowboats) and I'll tell you if you can look around and find it (there are currently no rowboats in view, by the way.

EDIT: Ulysses and Althea are exhausted sweating after their furious rowing upstream, and though their little boat has gotten close enough for them to wave at their landbound comrades, their arms and backs are burning with the exertion and it seems as though, even if they have the endurance to keep rowing, they will not be able to row fast enough to avoid being left behind unless Marko, Durx, Omoris, and Sentinel stop and wait for them. The little fishing boat is just not designed for speed up a river, no matter how strong the rowers are. Just then however, three large timber-rafts appear around the bend of the river ahead. In order to avoid a collision with the less-maneuverable rafts, the small galley pulls to the east bank of the river and waits there for them to pass. Daros pilots his fishing boat as close as he dares to the west bank of the river, getting closer to the adventurers who are taking a breather from their brisk walking.

[souldoubt]

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EDIT: Ulysses and Althea are exhausted after their furious rowing upstream, <snip>

I'm going to assume you don't mean "exhausted" in the strict rules sense of the word here, but regardless, shouldn't we get a saving throw? Not trying to be a rules Nazi here or argue w/ the DM (very bad form, that), but Ulysses having the Relentless trait kind of makes me mindful of this. He doesn't get tired; he's either just spiffy or flat out on his back, with no in between ground.

[Daryk]

Marko

Seeing the animated discussion in the fishing boat, and one of the boaters point at the finger of land, Marko increased his pace to get ahead of the little vessel. Stripping off his gear to keep it as dry as possible, the gnome dove into the river and used to current to help him swim out to the boat. Sticking his head just above the gunwale, he asked, "What's the plan?"

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Marko takes 10 to swim out to the boat with the current. He also retains a dagger in a secured belt sheath when he dives in.

[Bonecrusher Doc]

Darla ties one end of a long coil of rope to the boat and offers the other end to Marko.

[Daryk]

Marko

"Righto," said the gnome, looping the rope over one shoulder and around his body. He tied a quick knot, then swam back to shore, working against the current as little as possible. Once there, he found a tree, and tied off on a convenient branch. Then he turned to bundling his gear with some lighter line and made two loops over the heavier rope. Clambering up on the rope, Marko locked his legs around it and inched along hand over hand, pushing his gear ahead of him. Once back in the boat, he asked for another rope to use so those in the boat could pull the others' gear over while they swam out. Durx' massive frame would simply pull the boat toward shore and soak him anyway, he explained.

[Sledge_bro]

Wait for me!

After a quick gesture to Sentinel, both man and beast started swimming onwards.

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Take ten+3 13

[Daryk]

Marko

As Omoris and Sentinel swam below, Marko pushed the gear they wanted to keep dry along the rope with help from those in the boat. As he inched along, he glanced back to shore to see how Durx was doing. The half-orc's armor would be a challenge to keep dry, but if it took multiple trips, then so be it.

[souldoubt]

Ulysses silently holds the rope steady and taught enough to keep their equipment and supplies above water, looking to Daros for any instruction on how to keep the boat relatively stable in the water.