Second Waters - RPLOG
Participants
Date
21/4/477
Log
[Jera(#26418)]: Out of the new ship, a short lizard clambers atop the gold lion figurehead of his ship and squints down at the gathered crowd, quite pleased with the crew that he's managed to attract. "I am Captain Drak. Are you all here for the job?" Despite his gruff looks, with his leather cuirass and an eyepatch slung across one eye, he doesn't sound like a pirate at all. "Come aboard, all of you." He waves impatiently. Two of the dockhands make their way up the planks to the side of the ship, only to be blown off the side by a gust of wind, and left to swim to shore!
Out of the new ship, a short lizard clambers atop the gold lion figurehead of his ship and squints down at the gathered crowd, quite pleased with the crew that he's managed to attract. "I am Captain Drak. Are you all here for the job?" Despite his gruff looks, with his leather cuirass and an eyepatch slung across one eye, he doesn't sound like a pirate at all. "Come aboard, all of you." He waves impatiently. Two of the dockhands make their way up the planks to the side of the ship, only to be blown off the side by a gust of wind, and left to swim to shore!
Selena stifles a chuckle at the sudden gust of wind, though she doesn't seem too fussed. "You know, if your crew is having difficulty boarding the ship it might do well to move it a bit closer to the docks." She suggests with a shrug. There's a brief moment of hesitation when she looks down at the water below, though ultimately she doesn't seem to have a problem with walking up and along the gangplank - observant eyes might notice her casting a minor spell to keep the wind from affecting her.
Mazurek had been sunbathing on the beach when the call had come forth. The dragon didn't even take very long to respond, and since he was close to home he was minimally attired. When the invitation to board the vessel is given there is no hesitation for him in doing so. Knowing some air maths he uses his knowledge to create a buffer around him to keep from being blown off. He even goes so far as to board on all fours for added effect.
Kalt humms gently as she makes her way through the docks, her left arm freed from the sling by doctors orders for 'exercise'... And what better exercise than adventure? Of course, the Vixen's thoughts are flawed given she's not one to willing shirk adventure. A satchel filled with dulling potions hang around upon her hip, and her usual zweihander is replaced with a locally purchased musket and it's charges. Her armor as well has been replaced, the Vixen now using the crystal scale over gold inlay heavy armor she had found in the temple, and the solacious tabard replaced with a blank orange one. "Yes'sir you ain't loosin' too many to the water are you now?" Her heavy armor helping to keep her nice and weighted as she crosses the gangplank.
Cassidy jogs down the street towards the boat, all dressed up in her black leather combat gear and carrying around her pair of bows. As she approaches the docks, she gives a little wave, smiling. "Ah, hello, Kalt!" She wasn't quite sure what had caused it at her distance, but when she saw the two deckhands get shoved off seemingly by nothing, she preapred herself, just in case. Approaching the boat with cautiousness and a bit of windmath at her tongue, she moves to step aboard."Couldn't pass up the chance for adventure."
Garma stands at ready with his cannon, polishinng it as he stands and waiting, although not for too long, as a lizard comes and calls theme aboard. He flexes as he watches the two sea-men fall off the walkway, before he lines himself up and pushes his cannon upward, holding onto it tightly as he does so. As soon as he is aboard he laughs and looks the ship, and the attending crew over to see just who wil be aiding him on this requested quest. "I think we'll handle this just fine!" he says as he pats his shining pride.
It seems as though none of his sea men make it on board at all, only the five of you on board the ship with the captain. He smiles, waving the trap away with one hand as he kicks the planks off his ship, and then he disappears into the cabin for a while, returning with sack of crowns scraping along the deck and a new talisman around his neck. "Your pay!" He hollers to the stranded deckhands, throwing the sack overboard. The tinkle of coins when the sack spills it's contents is almost deafening...is this a promise of equal riches for his current crew? And then, even as his eyes look over each and every one of you, gaze staying especially long at the dragon and the cannon that Garma brings, the ship starts to set sail all by itself, a phantom wind stirring up from seemingly nowhere, making the large doublesails bloom out. "Now, you might be wondering where we're heading...but I'll let you know in due time."
Once it's too far for anyone to swim back to shore easily, he holds up his talisman. It's an elaborate pentagram, with a diamond filled inthe top vertex nearest the chain. "I'm looking for the other pieces of this key. Guarded by some elementals. Very, very powerfulelementals. My old ship got torn apart looking for the first piece."
Once it's too far for anyone to swim back to shore easily, he holds up his talisman. It's an elaborate pentagram, with a diamond filled in the top vertex nearest the chain. "I'm looking for the other pieces of this key. Guarded by some elementals. Very, very powerful elementals. My old ship got torn apart looking for the first piece."
Selena peers at the odd captain for a few moments - not quite certain of how to interpret the strange course of action taken, it would seem. "So, we're going on a hunt for... Part of that?" She asks curiously, rubbing her cheek for a moment."It hardly looks like a key, but I suppose I've seen stranger things. I'd rather know where we're headed sooner rather than later. It's a little... Suspicious."
Mazurek is one to let others handle any conversational pieces regarding where they are going and what they're to do. As such, the dragon does nothing but watch and wait in silence, having gotten to his feet to tower over everyone again. He meets that long look he is given with one of his own before looking out to the sea-scape.
Kalt moves to seat herself on a barrel before unslinging her musket, the vixen's hands moving to carefully pack down a powder charge and ball before she turned her attention to the captain with a nod. "Fair 'nuff. But, if'n we go fightin' a water elemental ain't we at a poor disadvantage an' such? Figure that'd be like lightin' a fire while covered in kindlin'." Her right hand then reaching down to her satchel to pull out a dulling potion that the vixen is quick to drain.
Cassidy peers at the talisman, nodding slowly as she rubs her chin. "Sounds good! I'm not entirely certain how I feel about fighting a water elemental at sea, either, but... Well! I'll have my bow at the ready. Who knows, maybe we'll get lucky. Maybe we'll get extra lucky and can negotiate with it!"
Garma makes small talk while their recruiter is gone where it allows, and grins, saying "Oh you like it do you?" as he stares at his cannon. He seems curious why the crew will not be attending by the look of it. "So you're going to want us to blow apart a few baddies and claim the key, to... something. If they're guarding it the prize must be something worth protecting, how much of a rough customer are they going to prove to be?"
Captain Drak gives his motley crew a surprised look. He was expecting quite a few more questions. "We're heading to an abandoned trading route. Abandoned, because many ships that took that route got lost at sea. No survivors." He gives Selena a chilling wink. Kalt gets a shrug. "Unless you have some confounded Creator device that could search the ocean from the safety of shore...besides. You volunteered." Garma doesn't even get an answer, the lizard shivering a bit. Not that brave after all. All of a sudden, the ship lurches to a stop and the lizard almost loses his balance, wobbling shakily for a bit. Dark, stormy clouds are gathering nearby, and he pulls out a hip flask to swig from it before pointing to a net hanging off the side of his ship, and a pulley system to help trawl the net out. "Oy. Now I need you to do your jobs. Four of you work the net. One of you keep watch starboard."
Kalt nods as she stands, patting her arm as she winks to Cassidy. "I'll be takin' a look an' such, you all can go takin' care of it fair nuff?" The Vixen bowing slightly to the captain as she moves to the starboard of the shift, musket's buttstock resting on the ground as she looks out over to the stormy clouds with a slight frown.
Selena tsks quietly, noticing the storm clouds - "Usually, beings abandon trade routes for good reason. About those clouds..." She replies, looking over the sea. "I'd offer to keep watch and work on keeping the storm at bay, but that depends on what the rest of you are going to be doing.
Mazurek has a lot of mass behind him at the very least." She replies, looking over to Kalt a little puzzledly. "You'd be a lot more use on the nets than I would, don't you think? And that's not counting Cassidy or any of the others we have here." Mazurek has been watching the seascape for the entire time while also listening to the conversation going on. He was already in a wide stance and using his tail as a third leg for balance purposes. As such he doesn't get knocked around when the ship suddenly halts. He does look toward the storm clouds when they're mentioned but then looks to the pulley system after that, "I can go beneath the water's surface to pull whatever is down there up and leave folks to operate the winch manually if that would help. Something tells me that would be counter-productive, though, so I will work the contraption." Without missing a beat he turns to head over to the device
Cassidy looks at the pulley and rubs her chin. "Nah. It's okay. I have this!" She makes her way towards it, jumping up to grab the rope before coming back down to her paws. "See! No problem." As long as nothing tugs on it.
Garma doesn't recieve a response, raising a curious eye but nothing more as his own retaliation for the silent reply. He stands firm as the ship comes to an abrupt halt, making sure his cannon is steady and ready for action. Since lookout has been offered, and isn't at all the crabs style he happily laughs and flexes as he approaches the nets. "Let's see what we can do here then." he says.
[Jera(#26418)]: Thud, thud, thud. Captain Drak watches the other four get distracted by the pulleys. He grumbles at how people don't like to follow orders, and he spots that Garma will take a while to drag the cannon over. Taking his chance, he waits for Kalt to reach the edge of the ship before getting her attention by patting a hand on her injured shoulder. The lizard whispers something before slicing a deep gash open in the vixen's arm and kicking her overboard. And then he turns and grins at the crabs. "You'd better tell the others what I just did. And remind them that these are shark infested waters. They'd better get catching with that net."
[Garma(#25824)]: Stops his work as he witnesses a rather low tactic, scowling as he yells "He just cut 'em and threw em overboard!". The crab flips his cannon around and gives the captain a look. "Well you're taking it upon yourself to stir up situations, I think you'll be helping the lass out, won't you?" he says as he starts prep work for something using his cannon.
Selena shakes her head for a few moments, ultimately moving over to the pulleys - though the sound of Kalt being knocked off of the ship draws her attention a little faster than the net, features clouding over. "Garma, get back on the net for me. We can deal with this 'captain' once she's safe, and it's no easy task to pull up someone in armor - or better!" The wolfess spins on her heels for a moment, a sudden blast of fire erupting from under the lizard, setting him ablaze. "You're going to keep burning until you jump off this ship and give Kalt a hand, understood!?"
Mazurek looks over when the crab shouts out the warning and notes the lack of a certain fox on the ship. Ignoring all of the activity that is taking place the dragon abandons his task of working with the net and pulleys and dives into the water. Being a dragon he doesn't need to worry about some things...like the need to breathe. Onward he goes to rescue the fox, his kinsman! Well, kinsman as far as a member of Solacious that is.
Kalt blinks gently at the Captain's words before she feels the cutting along her arm as she's thrown overboard, and if the Vixen had just a few moments to put together the words before smacking into the water... Well, it didn't aid her thought process for certain. Crashing through the waves the Vixen is left to flail in her heavier armor as she begins to sink, her weighted boots definantly not aiding her as she struggles to try and break her head past the water. She -did- remember his word of advice though, and if she manages to break her eyes past the waves would try to make for the afformentiod rope ladder. Though, her chance of reaching it was indeed low as her left arm didn't have the range of motion her right carried.
Cassidy quickly reaches for her snake-y shortbow. Others were leaping into the water, and the lizard was on fire... So that left only one thing. She quickly notched an arrow and rushed to the edge of the boat, her sharp eyes on the water. She'd be damned if she was going to let anything gear near Kalt with her on overwatch.
A fortunate wave pushes Kalt towards the rope ladder and lets her cling on. Just in time, too. The droplets of blood trigger what feels like a chemical reaction...clearly the guardian of the key piece awakening from the sacrifice of blood being offered. The boat starts rocking violently as the waters get choppier and choppier, rocking and making the planks of the boat creak loudly. The sail is billowing violently, threatening to tear the mast right off the ship as the storm centers around the ship. And then, the heavy rain pummels down, heavy droplets hitting as hard as soft blows and making vision even a few meters away blurry. A chilling roar comes, and the net is completely helpless to stop what comes next - a being made of pure water rising from the sea and crashing at the side of the boat. All the water has put the captain out, but the poor thing is already dead.
Selena looks up at the huge elemental as it rises up from the water and shielding herself as it crashes down, being knocked off-balance by the force but luckily not off of the ship. "Where's Kalt!?" She calls over the sudden downpour, making an attempt to regroup with the others on board before anything else.
Mazurek doesn't need to do much at all to help get the fox where he needs to be in order to begin climbing aboard. The sea actually helps with that, but he makes certain that Kalt is at least clinging to the rope to begin the ascent up onto the ship, "Climb! Climb as fast as you can! The last thing our House needs is another casualty!" The dragon is holding onto a segment of rope, intending to follow the fox up to help as needed. Only his head is above the water line right now, though the surge of waves frequently makes the opposite true.
Kalt yelps slightly as she's half-slammed into the side of the ship from the waves and Mazurek's assistance, taking hold of the rope ladder tightly though as she lets out a few soaked coughs to clear her lungs. The heavy rain that soon follows leaves the Vixen growling lowly as she begins to put one hand over another, gripping the rungs of the ladder as she begins to climb for the top. Her musket lost down to the briney deep, she luckily still has her melee weapons, and the hostile intent to use it on the captain for not bothering to give them all a warning that this'd be part of the contract! Her head nodding to Mazurek as she makes for the ledge of the ship, pulling herself up onto the deck as she draws her sword from her hip. Bright creator's fire alights from the metal, letting out sharp hissess as the rain hits the flame yet fails to extinguish it... Though the Vixin momentarily contemplates her luck if she had stayed in the water as she rises to her feet and moves from the ledge, her eyes setting on the large elemental with a look of grim anticipation. At least she was told this armor would provide better protection against spells and the like from the mages! "M'here! M'alive!"
Cassidy shoots a look to Kalt and nods, relieved. "Good. If you died, I wouldn't forgive you, you know." Her eyes are quickly back on target, however, as she draws her arrow back. Setting her sights on that glint she saw, she steadies her breath and lets her arrow fly, working her windmath in unison to hopefully keep the storm from knocking the arrow off course.
The crab nods to Selena as he's asked to get back on the net, however the attention is quickly lost and refocused on his cannon as a monstrosity appears, torrenting the ship, throwing his jacket over his tool and moving it to a better position, he does his best to make it work, aiming at the beast, hoping things work out.
The cannon blast makes the giant elemental rear for a moment, even though it passes harmlessly through him leaving a hole. Cassidy's arrow flies through with the guidance, striking the gem providing the glow and pushing it almost out of the beast. Soon, the draconic creature is flailing in its death throes, causing massive waves that threaten to sweep Mazurek away if he doesn't get out of the ocean right away...and then the body just disintegrates, but not before the head does a deathdive right at the fennec!
Selena breathes a sigh of relief as Kalt's voice rings through the deluge, wolfess moving to ensure the rather dead captain remains on board the ship with his odd trinket in some capacity - then, noticing the collapse of the serpentine elemental and its final dive, the wolfess prepares herself for a little more magic - freezing the water around the jewel as it crashes into the deck of the ship, ideally after the brunt of it has buffeted the fennec rather than before.
Mazurek is not suicidal, but that wouldn't really matter in this case. Even if he didn't follow the fox up he could easily survive the time spent under the water. The waves may threaten to knock him away from the rope while he climbs, but his strength is more than sufficient to see him up to the deck again. It is during his climbing onto the deck that all the activity with the elemental is noted, but there is absolutely no time for him to even attempt to dash toward the Fennec to save her from being deluged with water and shinies. If she goes into the water... well... he'll dive in again to help out.
Cassidy stares at the diving head in a moment of terror. "Oh.... Shit." She quickly hits the deck, securing her bow under her- They're clearly more valuable than she is, it seems- and covers her head, bracing for imminent impact. "Don't kill me don't kill me."
Kalt blinks as the giant intimidating elemental seems to die before them all, the vixen just standing there as her sword's flames keep battling against the rain to illuminate the dumbstruck vixen... and then the head begins to fall, not at her specifically but she could only -picture- such a blow hitting the deck causing the wood to shatter possibly. So she's quick to turn and run for a corner to brace herself against, her hands darting out to grabe errant lines to help her not be thrown free. "CASSIDY RUN!"
The crab watches as the beast slowly falls apart, and makes a death dive for the fox who... cowers in fear. He groans and rushes forward, taking up a stance in front of the woman as he braces for the impact, his cannon off to the side for now. "You should have moved, what are you thinking?" he yells about a second before impact, the blow doing a lot more than move him as it cracks his shell in a few places and bruises underneath. This was going to take a while to fix, but he would be fine, yeah just fine.
As quickly as the storm gathered, it subsides. The mast has fallen from all the rough punishment, but it hasn't broken from the fall so it can at least be held steady to be patched up with all the broken wood from the ship's damaged deck. Not that it was even super needed. The storm has blown the ship quite close to Firmament! Thankfully, the ship hasn't taken a big enough beating that any leaks have sprung too. The glittering gem, a sapphire, lies on the deck, frozen in a block of ice.
Selena pants quietly in the aftermath of the encounter, picking up the block of ice in one hand and the strange talisman from the dead captain in another. "Well. I know someone who loves treasure hunts to pass these to." she mutters, moving back to the middle of the boat after opting NOT to just punt the corpse overboard despite evidently seriously considering it. "...Is everyone alright?" She asks the group proper, moving towards the center of the damaged ship.
"I'm not the best at working on ships, but in the worst case I should be able to get some water magic working and help us move back towards Firmament. If we can, a tailwind would be a lot easier to conjure, especially if we have a few other mages on board."
Mazurek watches the aftermath of the encounter come with a crash, both literal and figurative. In the growing silence following it all he remarks, "With enough concentration and focus I will be able to ferry everyone back to the city without the need for this craft. I am a dedicant of both the dragon and griffon, and need only time to focus and switch out. But if everyone wishes to use the ship instead, I can help with the repairs." Looking to the group one at a time he then asks, "What shall the choice be?"
Kalt slumps down to sit in the corner as it all comes to an end, sighing slowly as she looks over the scene with wide eyes. "F-Fuck... That... Shit..." She mutters out, shaking her head gently before leaning it back to rest on the wood. Her hand reaching up to wave dismissivly as she fumbles out another dulling potion from her bag to chug down. "M'just... Gonna sit here for a bit an' all..."
Cassidy slowly looks around after the 'storm' had passed. She gives an apologetic frown to the crab, slowly rising to her feet and slinging her bow over her back. "I am sorry. If I had expected anyone would have tried to block it for me, I would've tried to avoid it. As it was, I was just trying to minimize my injury chance. Will you be alright?" She looks towards Kalt and poses the same question. "And you?"
Garma doesn't look too happy as he looks his body over, flexing briefly before he decides that it probably isn't a good idea, and pulls out a basic cleaning kit to tend to his wounds. Soon as he is done he starts cleaning his cannon. "No, I'm not leaving my cannon. I'll find a way to make the ship work again if you guys want to catch a ride. A good time to learn some magic maybe." he says with a chuckle as he goes about his cleanings.
Selena shakes her head a little and moves over to the center of the ship - all the better a place to work her magic for the time being, producing gentle eddis and currents in the water to begin the slow journey home. "I'll stay here. Better to put myself to use than not." She notes. "As much as dedications are good for, carrying a being in flight is no small task. It'd be easier if you stayed here and helped with a tailwind for us all." She notes.
Kalt sighs as she relaxes against the wood for awhile longer, giving a slow thumbs up to Cassidy as she speaks. "Peechy, I was just figurin' how I were wantin' to go swimmin' in heavy armor an' such. Was actin' as such a delightful way to get my fur all nice an' clean an' such." The vixen does seem more relaxed now that she downed the second dulling potion, pulling a wet band of sopping cloth from her bag to tie around the cut. "But yeah, I ain't fancyin' bein' one to go flyin' anytime soon."
Cassidy shakes her head and nods. "I am... Content to rest and work the ship back into the harbor, yes. I can help out with wind magic once we get the mast up, but... I'm not so great with wood work. Let me know what I can do, though." For now, she just sprawls out on the deck, catching her breath from the ordeal.
Garma looks to the mast and sighs. "I shouldn't but I'll help get that in place, let's do it." he says as he gets up and moves towards the mast, ready to see who helps him with this task.
Selena takes a deep breath and pulls herself to her feet. "It's a shame Kalt's out of action. I'm not exactly 'Strong'." She comments, pulling herself to her feet and moving to the mast as well. "... What do you think we should do with the 'captain', then?" She queries tiredly, looking over to Kalt in particular. "He's already dead - which isn't what I was hoping for - but without any identification it'd be hard to get him to wherever he's from. He did throw you overboard, so I think it'd be fitting you have the final say."
Kalt looks to the burned captain as she frowns slightly, letting out a slight sigh as she rubs the back of her head. "It uh... It ain't gonna seem usual, but he went an' apologized to me an' told me 'bout the rope ladder before throwin' me over... Ain't gonna pretend like I weren't gonna beat'im to an inch of his life an' all, but he at least should be brought back an' all. Should probably go lookin' through his lodge for things 'bout the treasure an' such. I ain't havin' all this happen to just go back empty handed an' all in the long run."
Cassidy bites her lip as she hears those words. "So he -wasn't- a double crossing backstabber? I've... Got some conflicted feelings now. I agree, we should take him back, though. I really wish he had explained things beforehand. I wasn't about to let someone hurt a friend in such a way."
Garma says, as he gets some help from Selena "I thought it was odd he didn't have any crew come along... something was up with him, and I'm betting his "crew" deserted him because he was dangerous and pulled stuff like this." The crab gives it his all, working to get them set to sail back to Firmament so he can rest. "I don't feel any sorrow for him, you can't do something stupid and spontaneous and complain when the people you didn't inform take it the wrong way. If I walked in on the thieves guild and took something, even if it was to get them to come with me and put out a fire, the'd run me through."
Selena shrugs. "Let me put it to you this way, Kalt, Cassidy: He could have told us what he was doing and what would need to be done rather than throwing you overboard. Saying 'I'm sorry' is NOT a reasonable amount of compensation for almost getting you killed no matter how you slice it. If I was to apologise and then set fire to the ship, it still wouldn't make the action acceptable. I feel sorry for his relatives, but with what he did it would've only been a matter of time." The wolfess replies, voice a mix of severity and sorrow. "I don't understand why beings would do things like that at all."
Kalt scoffs gently and shrugs. "Ain't too concerned, like you said, should'a just went an' told us before doin' sumptin like that an' such." THe vixen quieting some then as she leans her head back and just lets the dulling potion give her that happy ground of no pain as they 'sail'.
Cassidy shakes her head, rubbing at one of her ears. "Oh, I'm not defending him. I would have killed him myself if you hadn't lit him on fire. I'm just saying that it would have been nice if he had informed us ahead of time so we could have tried to come up with an alternative."
Garma laughs and, stopping himself, does not flex, thus saving everyone a few moments time from gawking awe. "Come on let's get out of here, we can dump the body on the way if we decide, but we should get going before anymore bad weather."
