Chapter II: The Journey to Maraketh

Ski


Ski notes where her cabin is, then finds a place in the shade that is out of the way to sit.

Zazi

Once she has everything situated in her cabin, Zazi wanders her way to the top deck. Though she's generally calm, she isn't one to sit still for long. She supposes she can thank her mother for that, or, rather, curse her for it. But it means that even just being amongst the sailors' activity will soothe her, so up top she goes. While casting her gaze about to find an out-of-the-way place to be, she spots Eldoran and Tarathel, decides why not, and comes over to join them.

"I assume it's safe for me to think I'm the only one who's been on a ship before?" she asks amicably after a moment.

Shi-Mon: C Car Roll

As Zazi moves across the deck to join her friends, she passes by a small oriental-looking man standing alongside the rail, hardly noticing him. Perhaps he's a sailor working on the ship; he's dressed only in the rags of a working sailor like the rest after all.

Shi-Mon notes the passengers gathering together, and with an impish grin decides to eavesdrop from a safe distance. He had hoped to travel farther west, but this was the only berth he could get for nothing - the ship's master seeming to appreciate having a man of holy orders aboard. Perhaps this group of passengers would prove amusing.

Tarathel

Tarathel nods to Zazi's question. "A ship like this, anyway. I've been on boats and so forth, smaller sailing vessels on lakes. But today was the first day I ever saw the ocean."

Ski



"I have never been on such a big boat before, I have been by the ocean and around docks before but never on one of the big boats."

"I've seen the ocean before, but I've never been on it before," Eldoran admits.

It doesn't take long before the ship is underway, the experienced crew moving in near-perfect unison.

Your journey will take just under two weeks. During that time you may do as you wish aboard the Devil's Dame. We will do the journey's actions in three-day segments, with several opportunities for random encounters.

In your next post, give a general outline of your schedule for the next three days. You are welcome to interact with each other, the crew, and Mad Sahid as you see fit. In my reply I will list the events of the first three days of the journey, and if there's an encounter we'll play that out. Any questions should be directed to the OOC section.

Zazi

For the first three-day set, Zazi will spend her time trying to get her party members better and generally being social, talking to the crew members who are off-duty. During this time, she's likely to reach out to Shi-Mon, as well. If she can find a way to be helpful and not in the way, then she'll be more than happy to pitch in.

Tarathel

Tarathel is taking the days at a very elven, i.e. relaxed, pace: though curious about the workings of the ship, he is only watching rather than inquiring, though he watches quite avidly. He generally doesn't approach people, but is entirely genial and responsive when approached. He does make inquiries of others if he's speaking to them with regards to their religious beliefs, but as a purely academic matter.

Ski


Ski will be spending the 3 day set on deck out of the way.

Zazi

She has to admit that she doesn't talk about religion often. The gods are the gods are the gods; she doesn't follow any of them closely, but she'll pray to whoever she thinks might care about whatever happens to be on her mind. Her mother didn't raise her strongly in regards to one god or another and, in fact, would try to dodge the subject entirely. It took Zazi several years to catch on to the fact that yes, she's actually avoiding the topic, but in the end, gave up on trying to find out why. Her mother was always good at running away from things; it was her special talent.

These are all things she tells Tarathel willingly, in a very casual manner.

The first two days of your journey go by without incident, but on day three a sudden squall overtakes the Dame and you find yourselves tossed about on the deck of the besieged ship. Mad Sahid shouts orders above the screaming wind, and all aboard are expected to aid in keeping the ship above water.

Tarathel

"Well, who did we offend?" Tarathel mutters into his soaked sleeve. The storm finds him clinging to the ship's railing and struggling furiously with a knotted rope in between crashes of water, trying to untie what he found to be an absurd knot.

Zazi

Oh, greeaaaat. Zazi will choose to stay on deck to try to help however she can as opposed to taking shelter from the storm below.

Shi-Mon

The day before the storm, Shi-Mon goes to the first mate, and asks him to make a proper introduction between himself and one of the travelers. Having given it some thought after observing the small troupe for a while, Shi-Mon decides that he cannot quite determine who the leader of the group is. Perhaps he should approach the Elf, but he is a bit unsure of the species. Maybe one of the females? The small blonde with the giant weapon seems to want to be left alone. The other, then.

Shi-Mon asks the first mate to introduce them and suggest humbly that she might be able to arrange introductions to the rest of her team.

But before anything can happen, the storm comes. Shi-Mon traveled west via the sea before, so is accustomed to the perils of the sea. He offers to help the crew in whatever way that he can.

Ski


When the storm hits Ski makes her way to the entrance to below decks. When she gets there she is gonna brace herself against a wall, she isn't amused by so much water.

[Firstly, thank you everyone for your immense patience. This wasn't as easy to put together as I had hoped.]

THE NEXT FEW TURNS ARE A SKILL CHALLENGE.

Successes Needed: 7

Failures to End: 4

Duration: 3 Turns

Primary Skills:

Profession (sailor): Help with the sails, batten down hatches, tie down ropes, etc.

Climb: Head up into the rigging to help with the sails.

Acrobatics: Use your good balance to help bring in those hard-to-reach lines.

Disable Device: You use your mechanical knowledge to secure the holds particularly well.

Secondary Skills:

Diplomacy: You bark orders at the crew, organizing their efforts and aiding a Primary skill check.

Intimidate: Used after a Primary skill check. You berate the crew for the recent setback, stirring them to work harder. You remove the one Failure from your total, but Diplomacy checks now receive a -2 penalty due to the crew's resentment.

Knowledge (nature): You watch wind patterns and can tell the crew where to bring in the sails.

Zazi

For the first round, Zazi will make the loose lines her priority. [ Acrobatics: 16 ]

Ski

Round 1

KnowledgeNature=18

Shi-Mon offers to help with the rigging, applying acrobatics to his effort. Rolls 24. (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4060327/)

By the end of Round 1, you feel like you've started to regain control of the ship, but you're still a long way from victory.

The ship is still being tossed about in the churning water, but some of the loose lines have been brought in and Ski's knowledge of storms is helping to predict the next big wave before it happens.

Round 2 begins.

Zazi

Zazi continues to focus on the rest of the loose lines. [ Acrobatics: 20 ]

As does Shi-Mon

I need a roll from you, Shi-Mon.

Shi-Mon

oops sorry.

23

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4061799/