[Hourglass of Zihaja D&D 4e] Heroes on a Sea of Swords IC

[Grey_Wolf_c]

Amirah, Living Swarm

Amirah glides to the table, and looks over Medinah's shoulder at the scroll. "A ritual in archaic?" she projects, "Our creator was ever fond of them, and made sure they would still be accessible to his new form."

Spoiler

Take 10 in Arcana (total 24), to indicate that Amirah is both trained in rituals and knows archaic language.

If that is not enough, Active roll - (1d20+14)[25] (not sure if knowing archaic and/or ritual training would give me a bonus to this check).

Also, where in OOC did you give us the EXP reward? Did I miss a post somewhere?

Edit: if we can't understand the language, would using the Comprehend Language ritual help?

[ninja_penguin]

Rahman Shamis, Kobold Swordmage

Rahman's posture went from attention to very interested as the Captain explained the contents and the scrolls that were given to them. "Very interesting." He said. "Very interesting, and potentially very dangerous. We should be careful with the research."

Spoiler

OOC: Arcana - (1d20+18)[21]

Also, Rahman is going to want to consult with Voice on this later I think, not sure how you want to handle that.

[Reverent-One]

Kihtsah Darimil, Dervish of Adimas

"Sounds like we've good targets, Captain, I look forward to hunting the 'zhong down." On the matter of the scrolls, Kihtsah agrees with his fellow kobold, "Yes, we must be careful with Admajai magic. But if we can use it properly...oh the possibilities." He leans forward to take a look at the scrolls himself.

Spoiler

Must conform to rest of the party and make an arcana check

(1d20+20)[34]

[A'den]

Teshiq, Midnight Mirage

"Things like this exterminated my ancestors. Don't be so quick to set this fish hook in your mouth. These spells and rituals of this nature gave birth to the Pactspell. It would be safer to destroy this and the sultan's copy. Mortal hands are not crafted for power of this magnitude."

Teshiq surprised himself, almost speaking as many words in a day as in a sentence but the look in his face expressed something quite close to fear but also hatred.

He looked at Medinah with a scornful glare, "This honor wiped out untold millions of lives, revel in it if you will but this is no power. of the righteous."

His expression softened a degree but his eyes still shot disapproval around the room. "Excuse me Captain for my outburst, but I'm not sure even the Shean deserve this turned loose on them."

[Shadow_Elf]

The Midnight Mirage - Map Room
The captain makes calming gestures with her hands. Don't get too excited, all of you. Teshiq has a point - the Admajai often dealt in blunt, nigh uncontrollable magic, as close to elemental spells as it gets. But neither I nor the sultan is willing to discount any potential assistance we might have in this coming war - and trust me, it will be war. The she-da-zhong come as conquerors, we know that much, though we do not know why now, and not another time. You will have time to study it later, at your own leisures. Now, Hakhpur, you mentioned something about Guild contracts? Thank you, by the way, I'd completely forgotten to go go check for those. Lets see what we have here... She opens the pair of scrolls Hakhpur brought her. Okay, contracts for the captures of Vertasi the Snake, an amusing title, considering the current dispositions of these seas. Contract says that he runs a crew of ne'er-do-wells and scoundrels, pickpockets turned to life at sea, mostly. Known to fake a busted sail or other technical issues to lure in potential marks. Last seen near Luardo, heading south. Okay. And the other is for... huh, that's a new one. Hagar Hrolfsson, never heard of him. Apparently, he captains a pair of raider longboats full of his close kin. Dvernin, the short, stocky and cold men of the south. That could be interesting. Okay, so, those are our options. When we set sail tomorrow, I want everyone to come back here, and we'll make some choices as to the nature of our heading. Dismissed, unless you've further questions.

((OOC: Okay, feel free to discuss your options IC and OOC. The way I see it, you initially have four potential targets to choose from: Hasnarash, The Salamander, Vertasi the Snake and Hagar Hrolsson. I shall post quest infos OOC soon.))

[Grey_Wolf_c]

Amirah, Living Swarm

"If we have time before the invading she-da-zhong-swarm," projects Amirah, still rather engrossed with the ritual, "I think we should try to first hunt Vertasi-wasp. In a war, too many will be hurt and need help. If Vertasi makes people cautious from helping others, that will be bad."

Spoiler

I am assuming we do have time for at least one of the side-quests, right? I mean, the invasion isn't about to come to the coast?

[Scylfing]

Medinah

The Warforged seemed about to make a retort to Teshiq, but the Captain's own reply silences hers. Instead, she considers the possible courses of action.

"For strategic purposes, I recommend we engage these targets of opportunity only if they are not out of the way of the she-da-zhong, who should be our primary targets, and otherwise pursue them once Hasnarash and The Salamander have been defeated."

Having said that, she goes back to her work affixing grappling hooks to crossbow bolts, deciding that the ritual scroll can wait.

[A'den]

Teshiq

"The key to knocking down any enemy is to deny him options, dynamic action that makes them react to us from a static position will safeguard civilians and give us the advantage of maneuver, speed and maneuver are the essence of warfare, we must strike at their mercenary pirates The Snake and the Dverin Vikings are forces moving among the water of the City of God even now if rumor be true. Destroying these assets will make it easier for the navy to focus on the She-da-Zhong."

He pounded his mailed fist into the other, "With those raiders gone we can start raiding their ports and transports forcing them to pull numbers from their invasion fleet lest they be cut off from home then we pull the noose tight and crush them with one fell stroke."

Teshiq sketched his plan out on a rough sketch of the sea he drew showing both west and east coasts. Taking out the Shean flank element then a slashing attacking acorss their rear left the main fleet in the middle of the sea cut which then could be encircled by the Sultan's forces and crushed from a strategically superior position.

Spoiler

Dungeoneering(1d20+12)[20]

Closest to what I think a Tactics roll is... anyways for military soundness of his plan.

[Shadow_Elf]

The Midnight Mirage - Map Room
Kalam is the first to speak up. We've no indication that these pirates are working with the she-da-zhong. As far as we know, the sheans have no allies.
Caal steps in as his sentence leaves off. The sultan's spies do indicate that the shean fleet has no external allies. The snakes are the foe - these pirates are vultures, circling the battlefield for the promise of easy takings. Still, I agree with Amirah's assessment, personally - if Vertasi's actions make people reluctant to aid floundering vessels, it will be a great source of tragedy in the war to come, says the one-eyed lizardman.
With that thought, you are all dismissed. We'll pick up this conversation in the morning. Get some sleep, Hunters - that's an order.

((OOC: Will push forward later. The decision should be agreed upon OOC before the conversation picks up in the "morning".))

[Belthasar]

HAKHPUR

The gnoll sorcerer, who was all the time with his arms crossed, listening, nods upon hearing the captain's command.

"After all, we all just had an active day... Heh."

[Grey_Wolf_c]

Amirah, Living Swarm

"I'm not tired," says Amirah, rather chirpy, "I think I'll spend some more time with the ritual. It is fun, and intriguing!"

Spoiler

Not sure how we are going to go about the last sidequest of figuring out the ritual, so for now I'll just throw time at it. A few hours worth of study, to start with, see if that helps define a direction in which to take it

[Shadow_Elf]

The Midnight Mirage - Muarzibet Port
With the morning tide, the crew is quick getting to work and setting sail. Once in the open ocean, The Midnight Mirage can be controlled by ten hands, but lifting anchor and setting sail takes the full complement of twenty for a while.
Having spent a dissatisfying evening with the ritual, Rahman and Amirah report on their findings. Not only is the manuscript written in an obscure dialect of Archaic, as if the author translated the scroll originally from a third language, it is also coded with a complex cipher. The code itself also has magical properties - it is impossible to concentrate on cracking it for more than about half an hour before it drives you to distraction. They're only now getting over the magical compulsion in the morning. They've also determined that is is designed for four casters, so, for a full-complement Admajai-style mage cadre, and that it has key elements of both ritual magic, which can be cast any time with components, and standard combat magic, which can be cast with just a few incantations and movements, but a with limited frequency.
The Hunters meet with the officers and the ship's navigator and plot a course for the south in the morning after they decide on their target - Vertasi the Snake, the rakish human scoundrel who preys on the good intentions of merchant vessels.
Five days out to sea, a ship is spotted on the horizon. It seems to have had its sails shredded by a storm - perhaps this is the ship you hunt. Kalam goes through a quick and familiar motion, and The Midnight Mirage's signature blue sails are temporarily bleached white by the gnoll's curious magic. The Captain takes the helm. She calls the Hunters to the deck, full kit - this could be Vertasi, but it could also be a ship in genuine need of help, so she doesn't want to alarm the ship in either case.

((OOC: Feel free to describe your actions over the past five days. You guys have some time to work with the ritual, but the enchantment coded into the words themselves prevents you from spending more than a consecutive half hour with it, and you can only spend that half hour twice a day.))

[Belthasar]

HAKHPUR

Even if he was hired as a cadre mage, the gnoll sorcerer knew that he never cast a ritual in his life, so deciphering the archaic scroll probably was not his strongest quality. However, years of mastering sorceours powers gave him a synergial insight of arcane knowledge, so he helped with the ocassional tip whenever he could.

Everyday, he wakes up early and does some physical exercises in the morning to fortify his body and mind; he was always used to believe that the magic he wields can be more easily controlled when the user is focused both physically and mentally. If some crewmate wants to join, he gladly accepts.

However, one thing worried him; the cloaked shady guy that appeared as an illusory effect. He knew that illusion magic was involved somehow, but he couldn't guess the specific effect. Was the guy real? Or perhaps the kobold girl made some psychic trick to harm his mind?

Hakhpur clenched his fist in anger. "That little... That's why I hate telepaths..."

When interacting with his crewmates, the gnoll would talk about the other ships involved in the pirate hunting, particularly the Gift of the Matriarch. Otherwise, he'd spend some time talking with them about anything.

He's a little impatient and sometimes ill-tempered, but funny to chat with.

Spoiler

Summing up, I'll try to help the guys with the scroll, but not so much, only half an hour per day. Arcana checks per day (if necessary):

Day 1: (1d20+12)[15]
Day 2: (1d20+12)[19]
Day 3: (1d20+12)[25]
Day 4: (1d20+12)[16]
Day 5: (1d20+12)[25]

Then, I'd like to talk to the Captain (or someone else) to get some info on the guys of the Gift of the Matriarch I found at the Broken Sign Inn.

[A'den]

Teshiq spent most of the time split between the deck and the small infirmary he had set up below deck where he practiced simple care and aid for the crew when required and had a daily sick call just before first meal for the crew noting any injuries or ails in a logbook and keeping track of the welfare of the crew. He also practiced monthly checks on the entire crews health including the Hunters and the Captain whenever they decided to show up he never mandated it but often health issues caught early on were easier and less taxing to cure then anything left to fester.

Otherwise he meditated twice a day at dawn and dusk in the fore of the ship maintaining his equilibrium and ever seeking the Third Path that Daq revealed to all in their own way. He welcomed any member of the crew to join in his devotions but never forced nor preached to any of them as their was a job to do it and he would not interfere. Not a practiced sailor he spent the rest of his days practicing his swordsmanship and helping with any of the heavy lifting around to do. Beneath his armor his body was a well muscled machine maintained by a cleric's diet and a fighter's apt for training. Aloof he still interacted with the crew in passing but rarely spent time seeking any in particular out especially those working on the ritual whom he still quietly disapproved of.

Spoiler

Daily Religion and Athletics Check for Prayer and Training.
Religion:(1d20+15)[26]
Athletics: (1d20+11)[28]
Religion:(1d20+15)[21]
Athletics: (1d20+11)[29]
Religion:(1d20+15)[30]
Athletics: (1d20+11)[28]
Religion:(1d20+15)[26]
Athletics: (1d20+11)[17]
Religion:(1d20+15)[19]
Athletics: (1d20+11)[30]

[ninja_penguin]

Rahman Shamis, Kobold Swordmage

Rahman spent the first three days helping with the ritual with others, writing down notes and speculations, and spending the fourth day in his quarters. He told the others that he was reviewing his notes and comparing research, but in reality he was consulting with Voice, trying to cross reference anything that he'd picked up previously with Voice's well of knowledge, and hopefully be able to stick with it for a longer period of time.

On the fifth day, Rahman reported when the call came ready to go. Any general disguise was dispensed with; aboard the Midnight Mirage, he was not going to stand out in any particular manner compared to the rest of the crew.

"This is a Charlatan's trick." Rahman said, looking toward the boat with the shredded sails. "We know that Vertasi works this way." Rahaman suddenly grimaced, causing his frill to flap with irritation. "I think we should circle around before getting closer. If this is Vertasi's work, this is him going 'look at me, I am harmless-'Rahman raised both of his hands, glanced at his metal one, and tucked it behind his back. "'look at me, I am harmless', and when you're looking at my hands, I'm making the real threat elsewhere." Rahman's tail grabbed his scimitar from it's sheath, jabbing it into the sky to make his point.

OOC:

Spoiler

Day 1 Arcana:(1d20+18)[32]
Day 2 Arcana:(1d20+18)[30]
Day 3 Arcana:(1d20+18)[37]
Day 4 studying(1d20+18)[30]

[Scylfing]

Medinah

Despite her lack of understanding of ritual casting and her regrettably lost knowledge of Archaic, Medinah provides whatever assistance she can to the translation efforts, drawing as much upon her arcane training as her memories of the Admajai, particularly of her own creator's involvement in casting such spells.

She'll also test out her grappling bolts when there's time, asking Rahman for advice and assistance if she encounters problems with it. But much of her time is spent standing guard, particularly at night when the crew sleeps, and uses her own "rest time" to clean and polish herself up for the next day.

So she was already above decks when the call came that a ship had been spotted. "I agree," she replies simply to Rahman. With that, she holds her longsword at her side and summons her magical warding, but otherwise takes no actions until ordered.

Spoiler

Arcana checks: (1d20+18)[38] (1d20+18)[24] (1d20+18)[35] (1d20+18)[37] (1d20+18)[28]

[Grey_Wolf_c]

Amirah, Living Swarm

The protection of the scroll may have given the other headaches - massive, in some cases - but Amirah's case was particularly strange. With no head to actually hurt, she instead would push to the limit, and then stagger away from the scroll in a condition not unlike drunkenness. The enchantment was messing with the dance patterns of her swarm, and by the time she had to pull away, half her members could barely dance straight.

Amirah seemed to enjoy it. At the very least, she always came back for more as soon as she was recovered. She took a methodical approach, and eventually just copied small portions of the scroll and took them with her into the crow's nest. She quite liked it at the top of the mast, where she could enjoy the silence and the wind and the rocking of the ship. Where others were sent there as punishment (and most sailors would vomit within hours), Amirah found it refreshing.

From her vantage point, she was of course the first to see the 'derelict' ship. After sending the info to the captain, she stays up there to stare at the ship as it grew closer. Then, the captain called her to deck and she dropped gracefully next to the others.

"Should we shield the ship?" she asks, as the others tighten armor and loosen weapons. "Pirates wouldn't risk damaging their prey, but once they know we don't carry cargo, they could be desperate to escape."

Spoiler

1st Day
Arcana - (1d20+14)[20]
Arcana - (1d20+14)[25]
2nd Day
Arcana - (1d20+14)[17]
Arcana - (1d20+14)[23]
3rd Day
Arcana - (1d20+14)[30]
Arcana - (1d20+14)[15]
4th Day
Arcana - (1d20+14)[24]
Arcana - (1d20+14)[32]
5th Day
Arcana - (1d20+14)[21]
Arcana - (1d20+14)[33]

Active Perception - (1d20+18)[33] (Any sign that it is indeed a pirate vessel? What weapons can be seen on deck? Anything big like catapults? What can be deduced of the ship from its size - i.e. how many people could be crammed on board? Amirah will use her experience as a pirate for most of those questions)
Active Insight - (1d20+18)[23] (Any sign they are preparing to fight/other trickeries?)

[Reverent-One]

Kihtsah Darimil, Dervish of Adimas

In the first morning, Kihtsah talks with the other arcanists, "I'll lend a hand with that ritual. Though I'm not fluent in Archaic, I did think I recogized traces of Ignan in writing, so I can at least help out there."

Otherwise, for the rest of the trip, Kihtsah falls into a sort of schedule of daily prayers, sparring with anyone else who wanted to keep their skills sharp, and assisting in the research.

Spoiler

Arcana checks-
(1d20+20)[23]
(1d20+20)[28]
(1d20+20)[27]
(1d20+20)[30]
(1d20+20)[31]

[A'den]

Teshiq shrugged his arms loose of his cloak throwing free his sword arm resting his hand on the pommel. He hung back in the crows since his armor glinted in the sun and waited watching the ship close with the apparent derelict.

"Perhaps the whole derelict is a phantom and the real threat is else where. Now might be a good time to apply magical aid (Water Walk) to those who will be doing the boarding."

Spoiler

Active Perception:(1d20+12)[16]
Active Insight: (1d20+19)[39]

[Shadow_Elf]

The Midnight Mirage - Qius Sea
Captain Shaur nods. Please, cast the Water Walking enchantment, Hunters. I don't want to get the ships too close - Vertasi might be employing some type of trap to keep his quarries from fleeing - otherwise, they'd just disengage and sail away. Remember, no hostile action until you actually see Vertasi, or until you are attacked.

The Ritual Scroll:

Spoiler

Over your five days of study, you manage to translate much of the manuscript - the problem is, its mostly gibberish. You need the code's cipher to truly figure out what this means - none of you seem to have the cryptography background to decipher this any further. Perhaps an abandoned Admajai ruin might have a copy of the cipher?

[Belthasar]

HAKHPUR

The gnoll nods upon listening the captain's instructions. "No hostile actions, no problem. I could be diplomatic with them, but in case of an emergency, I'll use my innate artillery..."

Regarding the scroll...

Spoiler

Admajai ruins? During my long trip from the eastern coast I found many ruins, do I recognize them as Admajai?

[Grey_Wolf_c]

Originally Posted by Shadow_Elf

The Midnight Mirage - Qius Sea
Captain Shaur nods. Please, cast the Water Walking enchantment, Hunters. I don't want to get the ships too close - Vertasi might be employing some type of trap to keep his quarries from fleeing - otherwise, they'd just disengage and sail away. Remember, no hostile action until you actually see Vertasi, or until you are attacked.

Amirah, Living Swarm

"Yes, captain-queen," says Amirah, as a small bag materializes at her side and she plunges a hand in. "Are we sure we want to walk on the water, though? It is quite a distance, and we will be in sight. They may just start shooting at us, or figure out we are fighters and not a drone. I could instead use a basic ritual to give us gills, and we can try to swim there, or even do a more complete one and give us fish-like qualities which will make us deadly in and out of water. That one will require a lot of components, though."

Spoiler

Bag materialises because Amirah is most of the time in swarm form, and as such her bag in inaccessible. This is important because in event of surprise attack, Amirah would start combat in swarm form.

Also, rituals, we have three options:

• Water walk, that allows us to walk on the water (or voluntarily sink and swim), cost 4 gp each, lasts 1 hour
• Water Breathing, that allows us to breath underwater and talk underwater (and protect our gear from the water), cost 22.5 gp each, lasts 2+ hours (nature check 10: 8 hours)
• Water Gift, that does everything water breathing does, plus +5 swim checks, and fight underwater without penalty, cost 67 gp each, lasts 6 or 12 hours

My vote is for Water Gift first, but I have plenty of money to throw at it. If that is too much, my second vote is for water breathing so we can sneak on the ship unnoticed.

[Shadow_Elf]

The Midnight Mirage - Qius Sea
Shaur nods. Use your judgment, Hunters, but do it quickly. I want this over with as soon as we can manage it - if this isn't Vertasi, then we've not a moment to lose getting back on his trail.

[Grey_Wolf_c]

After checking that the others are fine with the more expensive ritual, Amirah pulls out some components - rare ones - and sets them in a rough circle around her. Before she starts, she sends a quick thought to Teshiq, "Can you help me? There is a better chance of stretching the components further if more than one person performs the ritual". She hesitates for a moment, then sends it to Rahman as well.

Spoiler

We don't have plurality (3 out of 6 votes for water gift), but given that enough time has passed, I assume the others are indifferent, so I'm going for Water Gift. My ritual score is:
Ritual - Nature check - (1d20+18)[27]

Edit: Good enough for 12 hours, and the maximum, so no help needed with the ritual beyond fluff.

[A'den]

Teshiq bowed his head and joined the chant his skills were minimal with the primal forces of nature but he knew enough about rituals to act as an acolyte in any. He refined from any thoughts about heretical powers, after all the primal and arcane forces were a balance to the divine powers Daq embraced all of them, though he had heard of few Daqish druids.

[Belthasar]

HAKHPUR

Hakhpur understood the teachings of Daq, so he could feel a certain sympathy for the priest. However, the girl Amirah was rather weird... As the kobold chick at the inn, she could also communicate telepathically.

He shrugged, but he left those thought aside. Amirah was strange, no doubt, but not even Hakhpur would deny her power. She was in tune with the nature spirits, and no one could be more useful than her aboard a vessel.

He finally walked slowly around the deck, looking ocassionally at the distant ship. Could it really be a trap? Who cares; work is work.

"Should I use the power of Qamar?" he thought. "Or could the Falaqui be more useful this time?"

Once he decided, his eyes changed color again: A quiet, mysterious deep purple.

Spoiler

Starting phase: Phase of the Falaqui.
+2 bonus to Insight and Perception.

[Grey_Wolf_c]

Amirah, Living Swarm

A few minutes later, Amirah lowers her arms, the ritual complete. Around her, the Hunters shudder as the ritual takes hold of their bodies. Gills grow in their necks, fingers are joined by webbed membranes. a strange film covers their body, giving them a slightly greenish tinge. Their eyes change subtly, better to see underwater. Even Medinah is affected by the spirits, its body growing slightly as thousands of air bubbles are created under the stone skin, making her much more buoyant, and her hands and feet becoming larger and flatter.

Amirah, of course, looks outwardly the same, but the violent surge that shakes her body indicates that each and every one of the insects that form her have been similarly affected.

"Captain," she projects, "It will take us about five minutes to swim to the ship. Please distract them. Maybe with flags? I love flags."

[Belthasar]

HAKHPUR

Hakhpur felt as all of the fur of his body turned soft and permeable just like the ones of the sea otters. Thanks to the ritual, he felt like an aquatic mammal.

"I don't know why," he mutters surprised, "but I now have the urge of swimming, and eating fish and oysters..."

[ninja_penguin]

Rahman, Kobold Swordmage

Rahman flexed his hands in interest, somewhat bemused and interested about the shimmering metallic webbing in between the fingers of his prosthetic hand. "Well, let's go before we all start drying out." he said, turning to the others, before stepping up to edge of the ship, double checking his securing of his equipment, and diving off the edge of the ship to the water below.

[Grey_Wolf_c]

Amirah, Living Swarm

Amirah waits for the kobold to hit the water before taking his position on the far side of the boat. Then, she seems to get smaller, as two streams of insects leave her sleeves and plunge into the sea. Her outer clothes eventually just collapse into a pile, empty.

Spoiler

Logically, we drop on the far side so that the other ship doesn't see us go in. Also, I assume we will dive deep enough we cannot be seen from the surface - thankfully, we have our own portable light source, a.k.a. Medinah