Madness, Blood and Thunder in Ravens Bluff IC

[TheFallenOne]

Your sense for movement and noise returns slowly, and you notice you're lying on a hard wooden floor, unable to move. The ship's swaying from side to side can't be called gentle by any stretch of the word; it seems the storm outside has gotten stronger and the sounds of heavy rain, howling wind and crashing waves interspersed with occasional thunder reaching you seem to confirm that suspision.

When you finally manage to force your eyes open, you see you are below deck in a small compartment at the back, separated from the rest of the cargo hold by a wooden grill with a simple door. On the other side, a toppled over simple wooden chair slides back and forth occasionally when the ship leans sideways. Two seemingly magical torches illuminate the deck, though they are too far away to give your improvised prison more than twilight, with the shadows dancing wildly every time the ship was rocked by another wave.

You don't know how long you've been unconscious, but your captors evidently had enough time to strip you of weapons and armor. Iron manacles, some of them rusty from disuse, bind your hands and ropes around your feet prevent you from moving about freely. Once you had time to recover, you notice that Magnus shows no signs of awakening. And though for some reason he was placed several meters away from the rest of you, leaning with his back against an oaken barrel, you can clearly see the signs of physical punishment covering his body.

A sudden burst of laughter from perhaps half a dozen men rips you out of your contempation; the noise came from upstairs and now you concentrate on it, the laughter and bits of unintelligible conversation persist in volume and location.

All

Spoiler

everything registering as magical was taken from you in addition to weapons and armor

Candycorn

Spoiler

Whenever they manage to wake you up, you distinctly remember falling asleep during the feast without any physical confrontation

[Jeff the Green]

After a moment of futilely straining at her restraints, Mirielle lays back. "Gods dammit," she sighs. "'Never trust a Calimite sailor,' they said. 'Stop being racist,' I said. 'I'm not going to be drugged, tied up, and kept for gods know what reason,' I said. Dammit."

Mirielle looks around as best she can and calls softly "Is anyone else awake?"

[Sallera]

Aya's eyes flicker open quickly as soon as she regains consciousness, and she wastes no time taking stock of the situation - or at least, beginning to, before being interrupted by a most unpleasant realization. The bastards took my bow! Thoughts of dire retribution echo through her mind for a while, at least until the ship shifts again and she rolls into a wall. Right, still out on the water. Probably still have a chance to get it back. Maneuvering herself into a sitting position with a few muttered imprecations, she resumes looking around the room. She was actually cold, something she hadn't felt in a long time; looking down at the thin socks covering her feet, she sighs forlornly. My boots? Really? Wriggling her toes to make sure they still work, she begins idly testing the bonds around her ankles for any signs of poor work while she feels around behind her, running her fingers along the hem of her shirt.

Should be right about... here! A grin flashes across her face as she slips one of the stitches loose and withdraws a pair of small lockpicks. They wouldn't likely be much use on her own manacles; the angle was difficult. But she wasn't the only one imprisoned here, either... as the silver woman's words conveniently demonstrated. An odd colour, now that she noticed it, although perhaps not as strange as her own. Sticking her tongue out with a mischievous grin, she bends forward, displaying the lockpicks, and rolls across the floor to the other woman.

"Awake and somewhat annoyed, yep. Name's Aya, by the way. You have some reason for being down here, or are you as confused as I am?" she replies softly, then tilts her head up and turns to face the other way. "You want to roll over so I can try that lock?"

Spoiler

Hopefully we have a couple minutes; assuming Mirielle cooperates, Aya will take 20 on the manacles for 25.

[TheFallenOne]

Spoiler

nice touch with the boots

Mirielle was the first to wake up, and her silent calls went unanswered for some painfully long minutes, vainly struggling as her expertly tied bonds - no surprise, given the occupation of your captors -refused to give a single inch.

With some fiddling, Aya retrieves her hidden lockpicks, and she manages to roll over to Mirielle without painfully bumping her nose more than once. The bonds and rocking boat make handling the fine tools somewhat difficult, but after some tries the lock finally opens with a click certainly not soft, given the rusty condition, but with the surrounding noise level the difference is moot.

[Sallera]

"Ahaha! Got it!" Rolling over again, Aya twists her hands awkwardly backward and starts poking at her own manacles; it was far from easy, but the others still seemed to be unconscious, so there was no reason not to give it a try.

"Think you can get those ropes off?" she suggests to the other woman. "Being ambulatory would be a definite improvement for both of us."

Spoiler

Taking 20 again on her own manacles, if only to pass the time.

[Jeff the Green]

Mirielle flexes her stiff wrists before going to work on the ropes binding the green woman. "Thanks for that," she says. "I'm Mirielle. And as confused as you are."

She's quiet for a moment.

"Seems like a lot of work for five people. Any noblemen you've annoyed lately?"

Spoiler

Use rope (or escape artist; they're the same) to undo the bindings: (1d20)[14]

[TheFallenOne]

Spoiler

no success on your own manacles

Untying the ropes works well enough on another person while your hands aren't restricted, though it's still quite tedious

[Sallera]

"I hope not; that would make this little trip a lot more inconvenient. Still, who knows? Nothing comes to mind, but they're a touchy bunch." After a couple minutes of fiddling with the manacles, she sighs. "Can't get the last tumbler from this position. I hope I'm not the only one down here who knows locks."

Aya relaxes as Mirielle picks at the knots; hands bound or not, she'd feel a lot better once she could walk. And the floor was dry, at least. "So, I didn't see you around the ship much on the way here. What were you heading to the city for?"

[Frog Dragon]

"Arg." Jorran mumbled as he stirred. "Going to kill him somehow..." It seems his sword, gauntlets, armor and pouches had been taken... along with everything in said pouches. Jorran was facing the wall, so he rolled over. Two of the others were already awake. "Morning." Jorran spoke in what was obviously an annoyed tone. As if he knew what time it was, given his apparently extended nap.

He flexed to sit up. Surprisingly hard while tied up. "Anyone know what's going on?"

[Jeff the Green]

Good, Mirielle thinks. Don't think about what our captors want. Be productive. Even if "productive" is supposed to involve more books and fewer pirates.

She crawls over to the sour young man as quietly as she can and begins fumbling with his bindings. "Poison, if my memory can be trusted. Of course, if it was anything else, it probably couldn't be, so I don't know." She turns to Aya and says "You think you can get him undone? Those manacles look old; between the two of us we might be able to get you free."

Mirielle keeps talking as they work to free Jorran. "I'm here on church business," she says to Aya. "Kelemvor's church, specifically. I'm up north trying to find someone and heard he might be in Ravens Bluff." No need to let on who, or why, or what she plans to do with him. "What about you two?"

[Cardea]

Keeva rolled over, groaning as she awoke. When she found that her hands didn't spread apart in her attempt to stretch, her eyes opened quickly, and she shuffled away from the voices in the room. She smiles and them, and holds up a finger in pause, as if gathering thoughts. She looks over at the woman unlocking the cuffs on the man. "Could I get you to do the same for me, hon?"

[TheFallenOne]

Sallera

Spoiler

assuming you go about unlocking the others

Keeva and later Magnus prove easy enough. The lock on Jorran's restraints however is past your abilities. Whether that was a deliberate decision or they just randomly placed their one quality lock is beyond you.

[Frog Dragon]

"Trying to find someone as well." Jorran responds to Mirielle behind him as she tries to open his bindings, being just as vague as she was with her explanation.

Jorran sighs as it becomes apparent that the lock in his manacles is beyond their abilities. At least the ropes were off. "Someone here's got to have the keys. Lets just break out." Jorran glanced at the door. It didn't look too tough. "Is he going to wake up anytime soon? Jorran looks at Magnus as he says that.

[Jeff the Green]

"I don't know. Give me a minute to look at him." Mirielle gets up and dusts herself off. "Why don't you wrench the legs off of that chair to give us some weapons." She takes a moment to look at the man bent over the barrel, opening his eyes, running her hands over his wounds, and listening for a heartbeat.

Spoiler

Take 10 (total 13) for a general impression of Magnus's condition (is this something that can be fixed with a cure spell?); it it doesn't work, take 20 (23).

[Sallera]

"I'm on my way over to look into a few things for a friend of mine," Aya replies as she picks at the manacles. "And I figure the Shooting Stars'll have some work for me while I'm there. Damnit, this one's not going anywhere," she adds from behind Jorran. "Doesn't feel like a normal lock."

Moving over to stand behind Keeva, she sets to work, having a much easier time of it. "This one, on the other hand... there we go. I can probably get the twice-tied victim there, as well, if someone wants to roll him over and hold his arms up. They'd not have done that if they had a second good lock. I don't suppose any of you know enough of locks to get mine off? The angle's not right to do it myself."

[TheFallenOne]

With combined effort, you soon remove all the bindings holding you, except for the manacles on Aya and Jorran. Mirielle, experienced in the ways of healing, quickly notices that Magnus must have been brutalized while he was either unconscious or otherwise unable to move, though it seems they took care to just knock him out for a bit longer instead of doing lasting damage.

While you are occupied like this, a loud "YAHTZEE!" bellows from above, followed by barks of laughter. Appearantly your captors are quite enjoying themselves.

All

Spoiler

Frog Dragon, for the future, if a spoiler is adressed to someone only that player is supposed to read it

Magnus has a mix of lethal and nonlethal damage. Some healing magic should wake him up, though certainly with a headache.
The chair is on the other side of the grate, which has a currently locked door.

Candycorn

Spoiler

currently 12 lethal, 23 nonlethal damage. Wake up when appropriate

[Jeff the Green]

Mirielle turns over her shoulder to look at Aya. "Not me, sorry," she says. "But give me a moment and I'll see if I can help you break them off. They look old enough."

Returning her attention to the injured man, she rolls up her sleeves and touches him on the forehead. With a few muttered nonsense syllables she feels the pulse of energy as it flows out of her fingertips. It feels good, and she shivers as it knits together the man's broken bones.

She steps back and asks "Can you hear me?"

Spoiler

Sacrifice augury to cast cure moderate wounds, which restores (2d8+3)[9] HP.

[candycorn]

@DM:

Spoiler

Healing augmented by 4 points (level 2 spell, 1 essentia in the mantle) puts me to 0 lethal, 10 nonlethal

The healing seems to work wonders, but still Magnus grunts in pain as he tries to sit up. Then his foggy brain recalls the dinner, and the drugging, and he snaps into focus. Not terribly injured, but moreso than these fellows around me. There's quite a bit of blood matted in my beard, my injuries must have been much worse. Two of these folk are restrained, the rest are not. I still have my cloak and my bracers; I've been out less than a day. Nobody was killed, we were all restrained.

He winces as the person standing over him speaks, then replies in a slightly cracked voice, "Yes, I can hear you. Whichever of you healed me, you have my thanks. Does anyone need assistance with anything, before I go to discuss our refund with the ship's captain? I imagine he's less able to fight, if he resorted to tainting our wine. I also imagine that he and his crew need us alive for some reason, that or they have little stomach for killing. Either way, it works in our favor, when we head up there to question them."

Magnus stands, as a heavy hammer flies to his grasp. "Have I mentioned that I hate ships? All this rocking about isn't natural."

He walks to the other two cuffed individuals, somewhat unsteadily, before inspecting their bindings. "Provided these two aren't bound for a reason, it should be a simple matter to crack open the manacles, assuming you can remain still while I work."

[Sallera]

"Aha, a weapon! That'll make this easier. Yeah, we're only stuck like this 'cause I can't reach my own lock properly, and he's got a tricky one. Just a minute...." Slipping the picks back into their hiding spot, Aya turns around and lays the manacles across the top of the barrel, keeping her hands as far apart as they'll go.

"Guess it'll be a bit noisy, but please do. If I've got my hands free, I can get the door open without any further smashing."

[Cardea]

"Hey hey, woah, wait just a moment. C'mere, let me see if I can work somethin' on them that doesn't involve injury." Keeva says, reaching out and grasping hold of the chains between Aya's manacles. She squeezes, and whispers: "Inflixir danos luz."

Spoiler

Inflict Light Damage on Aya's Manacles.
Damage: (1d8+3)[10]

[candycorn]

Magnus looks a bit perturbed, and replies, "It may interest you to know that I am an accomplished armorer by trade. My hammer goes where I will it. When you are finished attempting to talk the chains off of her, I'll be more than happy to remove them."

[TheFallenOne]

Spoiler

I'll say Inflict Damage works on items of metal or stone, ignoring first 10 points of hardness. It's not enough to get through the chain completely, but seems to weaken it enough for Aya to burst them(strength DC 22)

[Sallera]

"Hmm... handy trick," Aya says, craning her neck to glance at the cracks and growing rust on the manacles. "I might be able to..." She yanks them apart with a brief clank. "...ow... get them off..." Another few attempts follow. "...eventually..." The chain finally snaps with a small jingle of links, and she brings her hands around to the front to inspect them. "There we go. Not entirely pleasant, but quieter than armoursmithery." The seven silver stars on her glove catch her eye, and she frowns. This mess doesn't have anything to do with you, does it?

Shaking her head, she retrieves her lockpicks again and sets to work on the door. "Maybe I should take a quick look around for keys before we go about smashing his. Or can you do that again?"

[TheFallenOne]

Reaching through the gaps to access the lock puts you in an awkward position, but thankfully opening the lock proves within your capabilities, and you now have access to the rest of the hold, filled with barrels, crates, large clay jars and other stowed trade goods, leaving a small corridor in the middle to walk. The stairs, facing you, are some 40 feet away from your compartment.

[Sallera]

Tucking the lockpicks away, Aya carefully opens the door, darting out into the hold after a quick look around. "Be back in a minute." Grabbing the chains to silence them, she pads forward, scanning the hold for their gear - not that she expected their captors to be that incompetent - and making her way over to the stairs. Passing them by at first, she checks behind them before gliding up the stairs to listen at the door.

Spoiler

Taking 10 on Hide and MS for 20 each.
A cursory Search: (1d20+4)[18]
And Listen: (1d20+8)[15]

[TheFallenOne]

Spoiler

no equipment visible.

The stairs are 10 feet wide and lead to the next deck. There is no door.

Imagine the stairs are north of you; then the voices originate from south of the stairs, so they can't look down to your deck

edit: regarding Listen: right now they are just enjoying a game of dice, though if you keep listening for longer something useful might be heard

[Sallera]

Sticking to the shadows of the staircase, Aya cautiously lifts her head up just far enough to scan the next deck, conscious of the contrast of her hair against the wooden decks. I hate sneaking around without a cloak. How many of you are we going to have to take out with one decent weapon among us?

Spoiler

Same Hide/MS as above, then, just trying to get a quick look around.

[candycorn]

Magnus grows impatient, and whispers, "gather the torches, then follow behind me. I'll take point. If fighting erupts, we'll arm ourselves with whatever our captors above have."

He then walks to the doorway, taking up a position at the bottom of the stairs, blocking the doorway.

[TheFallenOne]

Risking a quick glance up the deck, Aya sees five humans and a halfling sitting around a wide wooden table, playing a game of dice and holding onto their drinks; they likely wouldn't stay long if set down on the table. All of them are armored, though except one wearing splint mail rather lightly. From what she can tell, most if not all have some kind of weapon on their belts.
North of the stairs are two doors, though the stairs to the no doubt windswept deck is at the heck of the ship, directly above the compartment you were held in in fact.

[Sallera]

Dropping down again, Aya lands next to Magnus, shaking her head. "Six of 'em, armed and armoured. What I wouldn't give for my bow..." she mutters, glancing at the crates around her. "Hold up a minute before you go charging in, alright? I'm not one for punching people to death." Poking around the various sundries in the hold, she searches for something worth taking.

Spoiler

Ideally, she'd want something small and hard or sharp she can throw, but she'd settle for a decent beating-stick. Not going to spend much time looking, just a minute or so.

Search: (1d20+4)[24]

Also, is it shadowy enough up above that Aya could potentially reach those other doors north of the stairwell without being seen?