The first Savage Tide has already touched the mortal world, yet none who live today recall this terrible time of red ruin. It swept over an ancient city, transforming beggar and noble, merchant and thief, resident and visitor, one and all into feral, ravenous fiends. What took the ancients hundreds of years to build came crumbling down in a matter of days. When the final ripples of the tide faded, only ruins remained.
Now, after a thousand years, the hidden architect of the Savage Tide gazes upon new targets. This time, the doom will not be limited to one hapless city. This time, all of civilization is perched on the shore, blissfully ignorant of what the tide is about to bring in.
Supplies are stowed, water barrels filled, passengers brought back on board, and goodbyes are made. Soon everyone is back on their ships and the anchors are weighed. Everyone is much refreshed from their two days in port, some more than others. You're now ready to embark on what is likely to be the most dangerous leg of your journey to Farshore. Your path will take you east past the Amiedo Jungle toyour south, and past the waters of the Scarlet Brotherhood. It's over a month's sailing before you'll reach your next safe port of call, Fort Greenrock on the eastern shore of the Amiedo peninsula. And while these aren't exactly uncharted waters, no one on board has any direct experience with them. All you have are some charts made years ago that provide only a partial idea of what you'll be facing.
With waves to the few people on shore who might care about your departure, the Blue Nixie and the Sea Wyvern slip out of the sheltered cove they've been anchored in for two nights and back into Jeklea Bay. Thankfully the sheltered waters of the bay ease the land lubbers back into the movement of the ship. And for a while, even Father Ferres takes to the deck. But by afternoon, the ship rounds the Hook and enters the Azure Sea. To those familiar with shipboard life, it's an easy passage into a calm sea. But those passengers less familiar with life on the waves quickly find that the swells on the open sea can be much larger than those in the sheltered bay. By evening, Father Ferres is not the only one skipping dinner and taking to his hammock."
But whether you consider the movement of the ship a heaving menace or a familiar way of life, it clearly means one thing: you are back on your journey and getting closer to Farshore with every hour of sailing.
Here's a chance for people to post any changes to their shipboard routines, etc. before the next interesting encounter takes place.
Last edited by Trogdor on Thu Jun 28, 2012 7:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Once out of the bay and into the sea, the danger has passed and Captain Chanur can relax. He breathes in the fresh sea air and feels the wind in his hair and smiles happy.
As the days pass he is back into his routine of handling ships business in the morning and training Tavey during the day. He spends a night or two a week helping Churtle prepare the meals. Learning some basic cooking and giving some morale for his crew. Much of the rest of the time is spent with his fellow Sea Wyverns, or getting to know the crew and first mate. He wears his mithril under his shirt always and his rapier is always on his hip.
Fin spends the days taking care of whatever minor scrapes, aches, pains, etc. the crew manages to acquire. On light days he helps wherever he's needed amongst the sailer's or the adventurers he's so recently joined. Fin keeps his trident and shield harnessed on his back most of the time as a precaution against pirates or unknown dangers, always with the mephit incident at the back of his thoughts.
His night at land comes to haunt Berek for a what seems to be an eternal day and the otherwise so sturdy Dwarf is nowhere to be seen. When finally the Sea Wyvern heads out of port again a pale Dwarf appears atop deck ready to serve so it would seem...
Wavedancer, refreshed from his time on shore eating and drinking, is eager to get back into the riggors of daily life on the vessel. Knowing that the transition from bay to sea is a difficult one, he makes sure he's topside working where needed to make the transition as smooth as possible.
At night before turning in, he has picked up a curious habbit...opening his scroll case and enjoying the new toys found therein. Feeling like a young elf again, he feels fortunate that he was able to procure so many scrolls from Bart. After the events of the stowaway, you notice that Wavedancer takes to keeping his scroll case and dagger about his person at all times, provided he's not helping to crew the vessel. You also notice a wand tucked into the sash tied around the Half-Elf's waist. Some of you may recognize it as the Wand of CLWs that he aqcuired somewhere along his adventures. Clearly Wavedancer is still agitated by the mephit attack and the stowaway and does not want to be surprised by anything aboard the ship again.
Who's the more foolish, the fool or the fool who follows him?
Over the next few days, the ship settles back into its standard routine. Watches are held, meals come at regular intervals, and various chores are done by both crew and passengers. You see a few ships coming in or out of Jeklea Bay during the first day out of Fort Blackwell. But after that, you see no ships other than your consort. Your sole sights are the sea to the north and the jungle to the south. Strangely, it's the jungle whose monotony is occasionally broken, not the sea. From time to time you spot glimpses of the ancient civilization that once spread across the entire Amiedo Jungle. The vine-clad remnants of strange humanoid statues of great size occasionally peek up from the jungle. Once you see the crumbling form of a giant ziggurat in the distance, and once you see the stone ruins of what might well have been a village centuries ago. Urol Forol, a scholar and an archaeologist, urges you to stop again and again. But Lavinia has made it clear. She's agreed to allow the gnome one stop at the ruins of Tamoachan. That will have to suffice.
The first few days offer a small bit of entertainment to those used to the sea as those who are not get accustomed to the higher swells of the Azure Sea. But for most of the passengers, a few days of discomfort are all it takes before they're up and at least beginning to get back to normal. By the end of the sixth day, only Father Ferres and Kedra Sord, the tailor, are still abed. In fact, after dinner on the sixth evening, Talion Kipling, the young spice merchant, approaches Fin about the good priest of Heironious.
"I'm worried about Father Ferres," the merchant tells the priest. "His hammock is next to mine, and he seems to be taking this run harder than the last. He's keeping down less food than our first week out, nothing at all this past day. I tried taking him something just now and he can't even hold down ship's biscuit. In fact, he only took the barest sip of water. He's flushed and he's seems to be getting delirious. He moaned something about the world getting too bright." Talion starts shaking his head. "I'm beginning to think this isn't just sea sickness. I think you'd better take a look at him."
Daerith is ready for the trip, he is eager to have the ship reach Farshore, now more so than when the group first set out. He is constantly checking the charts by day and stars be night. Using the ship's sextant he is always plotting course correction or checking the time.
When not doing that he takes his mind of things by continuing to work with the apprentice mage Ariel Cubrinel. He focuses his teaching on wind and water magic, and avoids fire magic all together. At various points of the trip you find him pearched in the crows nest, watching the Nixie in the distance, or gazing inland at the ruins and statues that become visible.
During these times he's away from his duties he summons an Unseen Servant to help out where he should be. The invsisible magical 'creature' goes about cleaning the ship, hauling things about, or doing any other menial task that needs doing freeing Daerith up. He also uses his cantrips to signal and communicate with The Blue Nixie sending up magical lights or using ghost sounds to make this happen.
The day that Father Ferres illness takes a turn for the worse Daerith suddenly has an idea about the magic beign used on the ship and seeks out Fin, since Wavedancer's magical talents dont' change from day to day, the priest of Procan may have great options as he petitions his god for the spells and prayers he uses each day.
I wanted to talk to Fin about making sure he had some Create Water type spells to put fires out on board the Wyvern if we encounter pirates or fire based attacked. Daerith has no water making magic, but a cleric of the god of the sea I hope does!
"He that breaks a thing to find out what it is has left the path of wisdom." - Gandalf
J.R.R. Tolkien, Council of Elrond, The Fellowship of the Ring
Knowing the Wavedancer has been neglecting his duties to train the apprentice mage Ariel, he offers to fill in the blanks of Daerith's training. Offering lessens in the art of offensive and defensive spells, including fire based pyromancy spells.
The sorcerer stresses the difference between people's abilities to cast spells, making sure to point out the fact that while he is a powerful spellcaster, it is because he has an innate ability to do so. While this may limit the number of spells he knows, he is not limited to toting around a spellbook day in and day out. The spells he does know he practices regularly and with such vigor that they become second nature to him.
"Some people are just born with it and others grow to learn how to control it" he says to Ariel during one of their training sessions.
Just wondering about Ariel's race, features and appearance. Wavedancer isn't looking for love, but just curious given that he wishes to help her out in her studies.
Who's the more foolish, the fool or the fool who follows him?
At some point Daerith might find Wavedancer teaching Ariel about some pyromatic spells and he quickly has something to say about that. "Wait wait wait! Wavedancer hold on. Ariel is an apprentice, a novice with this yet. She could still experience a mishap or a backfire, and the last place we want to have her misfire a flame spell is on this floating tinder box. Get me drift?" He looks around at the wood and tar structure and really tries hard to make it clear its not a good idea to be teaching the apprentice fire magics onboard the ship.
I can just see her burning us to the waterline!
"He that breaks a thing to find out what it is has left the path of wisdom." - Gandalf
J.R.R. Tolkien, Council of Elrond, The Fellowship of the Ring
Ariel is a fair-haired young elf, still a few years shy of her first century. She had served much of her apprenticeship before her master died, so she has a solid foundation of knowledge. She was at the stage of casting simple cantrips when her training abruptly ended, so she has already been indoctrinated into the danger of spells gone awry. And mindful of her own inexperience, she declines to practice any fire spells on the ship, though she is perfectly willing to study them, and is happy to observe that at some point they'll have to stop to refill the water barrels, giving them a perfect opportunity to practice in a safe environment.
Daerith's instructions prove generally more useful to Ariel, he following the same scholarly path as she. He can offer her advice about formulas and the like, as well mental techniques to aid memorization. But Wavedancer is not without his own talents. Though his basis in casting spells is entirely different from hers, he is very practiced in the nuts and bolts of casting spells. He is able to share strategies of casting under stress, creative use of magic, and identification of spells from subtle hints. Between the training she's receiving from the two of them, Ariel is advancing quickly in her studies.
