Keel, Elf Sky Raider

Moderator:etherial

Anoush
Posts:160
Joined:Wed Feb 22, 2017 10:53 pm
Keel, Elf Sky Raider

Post by Anoush » Sun Oct 04, 2020 10:39 pm

Roll20 Name: MaryB
Discord ID: anoush
Character Name: Keel
Race: Elf, female
Other PCs: Mirage, Bloodbeat II of Syrtis

ECR: 5 (16,500 - 34,999 Legend)
Lifetime Legend Total: 16,550
Unspent Legend: 150

LifeTime Thread Item Points: 35
Thread Item Points: 17

Lifetime Silver: 2,923.3
Silver: 211.8

Sign Up:
Spoiler:
Name: Keel
Image
ECR: 5
Last Played: Nov. 27, 2021
Discipline: Elf Sky Raider 4
Quote/Unique: De’abor abora!! (While we live, let us live!)
Notable Abilities: I bash things with my sword.
Downtime: n/a
SOP:
Spoiler:
**Keel SOP**
Karma Ritual in the morning.
Fire Heal in the morning.
Characteristics
Dex: 17 [base 16+1]
Str: 14 [base 13+1]
Tou: 16
Per: 11
Wil: 11
Cha: 13

Karma Mod: 4
Karma Step: 4
Karma Max: 16
Uncon: 60
Death: 71

Init: 5 (base 7, -1 for shield, -1 for armor)
PD: 13 (base 10, +2 for shield, +1 for sky raider)
PA: 9 (hide armor, forged +4 [expires 2/5/2022]
MD: 7
MA: 3 (base 2, +1 for armor)
SD: 8 (base 8, +1 for sky raider)

Movement: 14
Carrying Capacity: 140
Wound Threshold: 10
Recovery tests per day: 3

Discipline: Sky Raider
Circle: 4
Discipline Abilities
** Sky Raider Half-Magic: for tasks related to the upkeep, repair, and building of smaller airships (like the drakkar), knowledge of different airship designs and crew complements, as well as knowledge of commonly followed flight paths.
** PD +1
** May Spend a Karma Point on Recovery Tests (Sky Raider 3)
** SD +1

Sky Raider Talents
First Circle Discipline Talent: Battle Shout (5)
First Circle Discipline Talent: Climbing (4)
First Circle Discipline Talent: Fireblood (5)
First Circle Discipline Talent: Melee Weapons (5)
First Circle Discipline Talent: Thread Weaving (2)
First Circle Discipline Option: Avoid Blow (5)

Second Circle Discipline Talent: Great Leap (4)
Second Circle Discipline Option: Shield Bash (1)

Third Circle Discipline Talent: Wound Balance (5)
Third Circle Discipline Option: Air Speaking (2)

Fourth Circle Discipline Talent: Fire Heal (5)
Fourth Circle Discipline Option: Navigation (2)

Free Talent:
None

Talent Knacks
Mapmaking [Navigation 2]

Skills
Knowledge Skill: Airship Engineering (1)
Knowledge Skill: Elf Lore (1)
Knowledge Skill: Troll Lore (1)

Read/Write Language: (3) Throalic, Sperethiel, Troll/Throal Mountains
Speak Language: (3) Throalic, Sperethiel, Troll/Throal Mountains

Artisan Skill: Wood Carving (1)
Artisan Skill: Singing (1)
General Skill: Air Sailing (1)
General Skill: Awareness (1)
General Skill: Conversation (1)
General Skill: Resist Pain (1)
General Skill: Sprint (1)
General Skill: Stealthy Stride (1)

Equipment:
Spoiler:
Adventurer’s Kit (backpack, bedroll, flint & steel, torch, waterskin, large sack) [Wt 14]
Artisan Tools: Wood carving tools [Wt 3]
Dagger [Wt 1]
Traveler’s Garb (soft boots, shirt, belt, trousers, traveler’s cloak) [Wt 3]
Trail Rations (1 week) [Wt 8]
Light Quartz [cost 42.5] [Wt 5] (half-price reward)
Bullseye Lantern [cost 13.5] [Wt 3] (half-price reward)
Climbing Kit [cost 18] [Wt 19] (half-price reward)
Rope (8 yards) [cost 12] [Wt 8] (half-price reward for 4 yards)
Grappling Hook [cost 10] [Wt 5]
Winter Traveler’s Gear [cost 12] [Wt 3]
Waterproof Backpack [cost 3.8] [Wt 3] (discount for PC weaponsmith)
Navigation Charts [cost 15] [Wt 2]

Hide Armor (forged +4, total +9/+1, expires 2/5/2022) [Wt 25]
Footman’s Shield [cost 15] [Wt 10]

Booster Potion x2 [reward, half price, total 50] [Wt 4]
Physician’s Kit Refill Kit (2 doses; 1 used) [Cost 25] [Wt 1]
Kelia’s Antidote [reward, half price, total 62.5]

Jakob’s Razor [forged +3, expires 2/19/2022] [Wt 4]

In Storage
Broadsword [cost 25] [Wt 4]

Total Weight: 104
Threads Tied:
Spoiler:
Jakob’s Razor: Rank 2 Thread

Maximum Threads: 2
Mystic Defense: 12
Legend Point Cost: Journeyman

Item History 1, 2 & 3 done
Research 1 done

Forged +3 [expires 2/19/2022]

A polished silver sword consisting of a pair of blades with no interconnecting region in the middle. The space is large enough to insert a finger or a coin, but doing so will provide a slight jolt once a thread has been tied. Upon closer inspection, there appears to be a fine filament upon the inside flats of the two blades.

Thread Rank One
Key Knowledge: The owner must learn the item’s Name.
Effect: The sword is Damage step 6.

Thread Rank Two
Effect: The sword is Damage step 7.

Thread Rank Three
Key Knowledge: Must learn the name of the creator. (Quosin Gurus, Ork Elementalist from the far east)
Effect: For 1 Strain, electricity sparks between the gap in the blade and gains +3 to the next close combat Damage test.

Thread Rank Four
Effect: The sword is Damage step 8.

Thread Rank Five
Key Knowledge: Must learn the material that lines the inside of the blades.(Azijin whiskers)
Effect: As a normal action, for 2 strain and the vocalization of a cat-like meow or hiss, the owner may shoot a bolt of electricity at a target within 20 yards. The wielder makes a Spellcasting, or Per + thread rank test against the targets Mystic Defense. If successful the wielder makes a Wil + thread rank test as the damage test, Physical Armor protects. Each additional success allows the electricity to arc to an additional target. Compare the original casting against the targets Mystic Defense. The charge will not jump from secondary targets.

Thread Rank Six
Effect: The wielder can spend 1 more strain to increase the bonus of Rank 3 ability increases to +6 (2 strain total).
Brief Backstory:
Spoiler:
Image
Vod’arr, readers!

My Name is Kun’dal’in (translated “keel of the ship” in Throalic). I’m an elf no’a’g’ral (adoptive clan member) of the Iceclaw g’ral (or clan) [Hex 41.07]. Since many of you are likely not trolls, let me explain that Vod’arr is a typical troll greeting, roughly translated into Throalic as “I see you.”

My family had sheltered from the Scourge in Kaer Bright Hope [Hex 42.06] in the Throal Mountains, along with other elves, dwarves and humans. The Kaer opened when I was still a child and was beginning to re-establish a village with farming and crafts,

Then the Iceclaw clan appeared. One night just before dawn, three drakkars appeared in the skies and raiding trolls leaped out to take whatever goods they could find in the village. Some of the villagers fought, and died. Others, like my parents, surrendered, recognizing the futility of protest. In the end, the trolls returned to their moot with plenty of foodstuffs and goods, and a large number of villagers to serve them as newots (or slaves captured by raiding).

Once in the troll moot, my parents made it clear to my brother and me that this was our new home, that we were to treat the trolls just as we had the villagers back in Bright Hope. Not knowing any better, we buried the nightmares of that dawn raid, and did as we were told. Over time, it became second nature. The troll children were remarkably accepting, happy to have new playmates and friends. So before long, we were immersed in our new home, troll culture and language, and learning to live as trolls. The adaptability of children allowed us to reframe the world, becoming truly a part of the Iceclaw g’ralnakh (or family).

As I grew older, every moment I could get, I’d watch the trolls sparring and wrestling, building their prowess at martial arts. Soon I was cheering on the trolls, and they began noticing me, laughing nearly every time they said my name, “Buttercup,” the Throalic translation of the sperethiel name Loreluna, “gentle flower.” I didn’t care, so long as I could watch the sparring. I even got pulled into sparring with some of the troll children, but always got soundly thrashed.

One season, I snagged a sought-after position on Ice Dragon, one of the clan’s drakkars: cleaning, cooking, occasionally helping with repairs. It was heaven! Flying among the clouds, feeling the wind on my face, I loved every minute of it.

My parents are both skilled artisans. My mother specializes in weaving and has improved the sail fabric of the clan’s drakkars, so that they can fly faster. My father put his wood carving skills to use working on the clan’s drakkars, carving embellishments and integral parts. I have always loved watching my father’s hands shape the wood and I have learned that skill as well. Because of their contributions to the clan, my parents, my younger brother, and I were welcomed into the clan as no’a’g’ral, to become members of the clan, no longer newots.

Eventually, I began feeling a connection to a few of the troll fighters. Soon I learned that these were all Sky Raider adepts. One of them, Modrin, began taking an interest in me, offering me casual advice on sparring opponents, asking me about why I was fighting and watching the fighting. Eventually, I asked to be trained as a Sky Raider and Modrin agreed.

At my tarr’a’on (or Naming ritual), I, who was the elven girl Named Buttercup, took the Name Kun’dal’in as my adult, troll Name. Kun’dal’in is a euphemism for “strength” in Trollish. Modrin spent a lot of time teaching me about jar’arak (troll philosophy). One of the basic tenets is that a Troll’s strength — of mind, of body, of katorr (or personal honor) — are of utmost importance. So I chose this Name to remind myself constantly of this teaching. I tend to introduce myself as “Keel”, unless it’s to a group of trolls. No’a’ul (non-trolls) can never pronounce Trollish words properly, and I hate to see the language butchered.

Now that I’ve passed the first hurdle and am now a Sky Raider adept, Modrin advised that it was time to gain independence, to see something of the wider world. So, I’ve left my altrua’agoral (or troll moot) to learn more about the world and to grow in experience. My first stop is Throal, where the chief’s second son, Lazulin, is now based. I hope to find him there and perhaps even help him accomplish his goals.
Adventures:
Last edited by Anoush on Mon Dec 06, 2021 9:24 pm, edited 29 times in total.

ottdmk
Posts:462
Joined:Mon Dec 12, 2016 10:25 pm

Re: Keel, Elf Sky Raider [ECR 1, Secondary] -- NEEDS SANCTION

Post by ottdmk » Thu Oct 08, 2020 12:37 am

Sanctioned!
Spoiler:
Anoush wrote:
Sun Oct 04, 2020 10:39 pm
Roll20 Name: MaryB
Discord ID: anoush
Character Name: Keel
Race: Elf

ECR: 1 (0-599 Legend)
Lifetime Legend Total: 0
Unspent Legend: 0

LifeTime Thread Item Points: 0
Thread Item Points: 0

Lifetime Silver: 100
Silver: 10

Sign Up:
Spoiler:
Name: Keel
Image
ECR: 1
Last game played: Oct.1 [Bloodbeat II]
Discipline: Sky Raider 1
Quote/Unique: De’abor abora!! (While we live, let us live!)
Notable Abilities: I bash things with my sword.
Downtime: n/a
SOP:
Spoiler:
Karma Ritual in the morning.
Discipline: Sky Raider
Circle: 1
Discipline Abilities
** Sky Raider Half-Magic: for tasks related to the upkeep, repair, and building of smaller airships (like the drakkar), knowledge of different airship designs and crew complements, as well as knowledge of commonly followed flight paths.


Characteristics
Dex: 16
Str: 13
Tou: 16
Per: 11
Wil: 11
Cha: 13

Karma Mod: 4
Karma Step: 4
Karma Max: 4
Uncon: 39
Death: 47

Init: 5 (base 7, -1 for shield, -1 for armor)
PD: 11 (base 9, +2 for shield)
PA: 5 (hide armor)
MD: 7
MA: 3 (base 2, +1 for armor)
SD: 8

Movement: 14
Carrying Capacity: 125
Wound Threshold: 10
Recovery tests per day: 3

[Discipline] Talents
First Circle Discipline Talent: Avoid Blow (2)
First Circle Discipline Talent: Battle Shout (3)
First Circle Discipline Talent: Melee Weapons (3)

Free Talent:
None

Other Talents
None

Talent Knacks
None

Spells
None

Skills
Knowledge Skill: Airship Engineering (1)
Knowledge Skill: Elf Lore (1)
Knowledge Skill: Troll Lore (1)

Read/Write Language: (3) Throalic, Sperethiel, Troll/Throal Mountains
Speak Language: (3) Throalic, Sperethiel, Troll/Throal Mountains

Artisan Skill: Wood Carving (1)
General Skill: Awareness (1)
General Skill: Conversation (1)
General Skill: Navigation (1)
General Skill: Stealthy Stride (1)

Equipment:
Adventurer’s Kit (backpack, bedroll, flint & steel, torch, waterskin, large sack) [Wt 14]
Artisan Tools: Wood carving tools [Wt 3]
Dagger [Wt 1]
Traveler’s Garb (soft boots, shirt, belt, trousers, traveler’s cloak) [Wt 3]
Trail Rations (1 week) [Wt 8]

Hide Armor [cost 50] [Wt 25]
Footman’s Shield [cost 15] [Wt 10]
Broadsword [cost 25] [Wt 4]

Total Weight: 68

Threads Tied:
None

Animal Companions:
None

Brief Backstory:
Image
Vod’arr, readers!

My Name is Kun’dal’in (translated “keel of the ship” in Throalic). I’m an elf no’a’g’ral (adoptive clan member) of the Iceclaw g’ral (or clan) [Hex 41.07]. Since many of you are likely not trolls, let me explain that Vod’arr is a typical troll greeting, roughly translated into Throalic as “I see you.”

My family had sheltered from the Scourge in Kaer Bright Hope [Hex 42.06] in the Throal Mountains, along with other elves, dwarves and humans. The Kaer opened when I was still a child and was beginning to re-establish a village with farming and crafts,

Then the Iceclaw clan appeared. One night just before dawn, three drakkars appeared in the skies and raiding trolls leaped out to take whatever goods they could find in the village. Some of the villagers fought, and died. Others, like my parents, surrendered, recognizing the futility of protest. In the end, the trolls returned to their moot with plenty of foodstuffs and goods, and a large number of villagers to serve them as newots (or slaves captured by raiding).

Once in the troll moot, my parents made it clear to my brother and me that this was our new home, that we were to treat the trolls just as we had the villagers back in Bright Hope. Not knowing any better, we buried the nightmares of that dawn raid, and did as we were told. Over time, it became second nature. The troll children were remarkably accepting, happy to have new playmates and friends. So before long, we were immersed in our new home, troll culture and language, and learning to live as trolls. The adaptability of children allowed us to reframe the world, becoming truly a part of the Iceclaw g’ralnakh (or family).

As I grew older, every moment I could get, I’d watch the trolls sparring and wrestling, building their prowess at martial arts. Soon I was cheering on the trolls, and they began noticing me, laughing nearly every time they said my name, “Buttercup,” the Throalic translation of the sperethiel name Loreluna, “gentle flower.” I didn’t care, so long as I could watch the sparring. I even got pulled into sparring with some of the troll children, but always got soundly thrashed.

One season, I snagged a sought-after position on Ice Dragon, one of the clan’s drakkars: cleaning, cooking, occasionally helping with repairs. It was heaven! Flying among the clouds, feeling the wind on my face, I loved every minute of it.

My parents are both skilled artisans. My mother specializes in weaving and has improved the sail fabric of the clan’s drakkars, so that they can fly faster. My father put his wood carving skills to use working on the clan’s drakkars, carving embellishments and integral parts. I have always loved watching my father’s hands shape the wood and I have learned that skill as well. Because of their contributions to the clan, my parents, my younger brother, and I were welcomed into the clan as no’a’g’ral, to become members of the clan, no longer newots.

Eventually, I began feeling a connection to a few of the troll fighters. Soon I learned that these were all Sky Raider adepts. One of them, Modrin, began taking an interest in me, offering me casual advice on sparring opponents, asking me about why I was fighting and watching the fighting. Eventually, I asked to be trained as a Sky Raider and Modrin agreed.

At my tarr’a’on (or Naming ritual), I, who was the elven girl Named Buttercup, took the Name Kun’dal’in as my adult, troll Name. Kun’dal’in is a euphemism for “strength” in Trollish. Modrin spent a lot of time teaching me about jar’arak (troll philosophy). One of the basic tenets is that a Troll’s strength — of mind, of body, of katorr (or personal honor) — are of utmost importance. So I chose this Name to remind myself constantly of this teaching. I tend to introduce myself as “Keel”, unless it’s to a group of trolls. No’a’ul (non-trolls) can never pronounce Trollish words properly, and I hate to see the language butchered.

Now that I’ve passed the first hurdle and am now a Sky Raider adept, Modrin advised that it was time to gain independence, to see something of the wider world. So, I’ve left my altrua’agoral (or troll moot) to learn more about the world and to grow in experience. My first stop is Throal, where the chief’s second son, Lazulin, is now based. I hope to find him there and perhaps even help him accomplish his goals.

Anoush
Posts:160
Joined:Wed Feb 22, 2017 10:53 pm

Big Man in a Small Business

Post by Anoush » Mon Oct 19, 2020 12:37 am

Big Man in a Small Business
GM: verse86
Date: 2020/10/15

Keel's Journal:
Spoiler:
Dear Mom & Dad,

So far, Throal’s been pretty boring. Haven’t found much in the way of work, but am continuing to look. Not many new friends, either.

But, I finally did connect with a group of adepts and got a short-term job. The job was guarding a small caravan heading up to Sosonopa. The employer was a troll, Malak Wonjin, a local cook and businessman who was moving his food stall up there.

The other guards were: Nergae, a dwarf beastmaster, Malak’s step-daughter; Strats, a huge obsidiman gauntlet; Calina, an elf wizard who didn’t talk, at all — strange that, but she turned out to be effective anyway; Anhran, a troubadour windling; and Taras, a human scout, who had an opinion on everything — guess he made up for Calina not talking.

We had no problems getting there. Malak chose a building that had been abandoned a few months ago. It seemed like a good spot, where he’d get lots of business. So we began clearing out the building. Turns out it was infested with rats, lots of them, giant ones. Disgusting and nasty. First, know that I’m fine, no permanent harm done. The upstairs was just dirty with the usual mess of an abandoned building. The cellar was another thing.

The first cellar room we entered, one of the rats attacked me and knocked me down with a big bite in my side. I retreated and the rest finished them up. We took a couple of days to recover and then continued clearing the cellar. The rest of the place was easier.

There was a corridor with an inscription on the wall, and peaking around the corner we say a pretty mosaic on the floor. Together we puzzled out that the inscription told us what part of the mosaic to walk on as we went down the hallway so as to not be skewered with knives. Cool, and we figured it out correctly so no one was hurt. Even so, Strats was very protective of the rest of us and insisted on going first.

Then we found a room that looked like an alchemist’s lab. While we were checking it out, a giant burning spider — yes, burning — dropped down on us. It bit and poisoned some of us, including me. Luckily the poison was only a temporary paralyzing one, so we recovered. I told you, I’m fine! We did find a bunch of healing and booster potions, and the like, in the lab. So most of us took some.

The final room had a whole bunch of rats that spilled out of a well. Nasty, dirty creatures. We killed them all.

Now that the cellar is cleared out, Malak is setting up his food stall in this new location.

We returned to Throal — a very pleasant trip — safe and sound.

Hope you’re doing well.


Love,
Kun’dal'in
Advancement:
Spoiler:
Previous Totals
LP 0
SP 10
TIPs 0

Awards
(Including Journal)
LP 840
SP 250 (base)
* Reward: 2 half-price booster potions, 25 each, total 50
SP 200 (actual)
TIPs 3
14 days of Down-time

Available
(Including Journal)
LP 840
SP 210
TIPs 3
14 days of Down-time

 
Spends
LP
Climbing 0—>2: 300
Fireblood 0–>2: 300
Great Leap 0-->1: 100
Shield Bash 0—>1: 100

Remaining Bank: 40 LP
 
SP
Training for Circle 2 Sky Raider: 200 SP

Remaining Bank: 10 SP
 
TIPs
None Used
Remaining Bank: 3 TIPs
 
[b[Down-time[/b]
7 days Training to Advance to Circle 2 Sky Raider
7 days unused

Anoush
Posts:160
Joined:Wed Feb 22, 2017 10:53 pm

X Marks the Spot

Post by Anoush » Thu Nov 05, 2020 9:19 pm

X Marks the Spot
GM: verse86
Date: 2020/11/04

Keel's Journal:
Spoiler:
Dear Mom & Dad,

I’m having a great time in Throal. I’ve met more interesting people, including a number of adepts.

I was in the Throal market recently, when I was approached by a t’skrang Named J’K’sper. He had a treasure map, reallly! He told me that a ship had sunk in the Servos Jungle and that he was looking for people to help him get the ship’s goods out of it. By goods, he meant valuables, coins, gem, jewelry. Like something out of an old story.

He seemed honest-enough, so I agreed to round up some others and meet him at a local dive, The Blue Weasel. I found Calina, the elf wizard, Taras, the human scout, and R’edtarian, the human warrior all pretty easily. Taras brought a friend of his along, a human elementalist Named Orlam. So, we met J’K’sper to talk about specifics.

J’K’sper wouldn’t let us study map, nor would he tell us where in the Servos the ship had sunk, just that it was on a minor tributary of the Galanga River. We agreed to a 70/30 split, us getting the 70%. We asked specifically if anyone else would be searching for the treasure, but JK said no one in particular would be, but that of course, others knew of it.

Afterward, Calina indicated that JK seemed nervous and guarded. Obviously, he wasn’t telling us everything. Then again, who, with a treasure map, would tell the entire truth? We spent the rest of the day buying a few supplies (e.g., more rations) and trying to find more about the northeast part of the Servos Jungle. Our brief research told us about way too many dangers to list here. Suffice to say, everything’s dangerous in the Jungle. But we had a good group. The scariest rumors we heard were about a giant ape somewhere in the Jungle, and of a crazy nethermancer who was breeding high-powered nightflyers. Creepy. Luckily, we ran into neither on this trip.

The six of us headed out the following morning. The trip was uneventful. We walked down to Kampung Gajah, then took a riverboat along the Coil River down to where it came the closest to the Jungle. Once we got onto the boat, JK seemed much happier, singing lilting songs and walking with a spring in his step. All he would say is that he’s always loved being on the water, on boats. Along the way, Taras was convinced that a group of adepts were following us, but they didn’t get off the boat when we did, but rather continued south. So we thought no more about them.

After that, we trekked west overland and into the Servos itself. We came close to Irondelve, but skirted the town on purpose. After entering the Jungle, the trip was quiet until about noon. Up ahead, we saw four troajins — lynx-sized panther-like cats — perched on the rocks. JK made a dash into the dense brush behind us, while the rest of us approached closer and engaged the cats in melee. We all contributed, but Calina got in the final attack with a Mind Dart on the last cat. We were hurt, but not badly. After recovering a bit, we continued.

Late that afternoon, as we were looking for a place to camp for the night, we came across a deserted farmstead. It obviously had not been worked in a couple of seasons. The farmhouse’s interior was dusty and sparsely furnished. The only remaining item of value was a bottle of moonshine. Why in the world someone would leave a bottle of alcohol behind, I’ll never know! Taras appropriated it, naturally. Two paths led away from the farmhouse; one to the outhouse and the other to a well. The farm wasn’t near the river. Orlam kept muttering about wild boars and murder pigs, but there was no livestock, so it seemed safe enough. We spent a quiet night there.

The next day, JK was positively giddy. He kept telling us that we were close, very close, and he was ecstatic! We reached a smallish river, about 10 yards across. In it, we could see debris from a ship that had broken into pieces, perhaps when it collided with the nearby rocks. It’s not clear what caused it to sink.

As R’ed and I prepared to enter the water and start searching for the treasure, Taras began firing arrows into the logs floating in the river. Surprisingly, some of them dived down into the water and swam away. Crocodiles! That was a close call! We hunted down a deer in the jungle and used it as bait, to lure the crocs away from the sunken ship. The last we saw them, the crocs were heading north away from us, their prize deer in their greedy jaws.

R’ed and I dived into the water and before long found a large chest, heavy. We pulled it up onto shore with difficulty. When we broke the padlock, we found that it was filled with coins, gems and jewelry. Truly a treasure chest!

As we were admiring the loot, we heard a voice ring out from the depths of the jungle, “You son of a bitch!” JK’s head came up and he replied, “Oh, but I was getting it for all of us.” The adepts that Taras had seen following us had found us again. There were two archers and 3 others who had the look of bandits. Before JK could talk more to them, a fight began. JK very quickly dived into the river. But then returned mid-fight to start filling his many pockets with as much loot as he could hold. A stern look from Orlam stopped him cold and JK stayed put.

It was a tough fight, but we prevailed. Taras’ archery was deadly, and the enemy archers were no match for him. Orlam and Calina’s spells were very welcome, not just attacking the bandits, but providing better defenses for our side.

After all but one of the bandits were down, unconscious, we questioned the remaining one. The story we finally extracted was that JK and these adepts had been working together, stealing from a variety of targets. The loot here was their cumulative haul from all their jobs. But their ship sank. JK found us in an attempt to steal all the loot from his pals. No honor among thieves, eh?

We split the look among our group, and even gave JK a share. We left the bandits in the jungle with no weapons or supplies, to fend off the jungle as best they could. And to see if anything more could be salvaged from their sunken ship. But we left them alive. We returned to Throal without catching sight of them again. The last we saw JK, he was flaunting his share of the jewelry on his fingers, around his neck, even on his tail.

Quite an adventure, huh?!


Say Hi to everyone for me!

Love,
Kun’da’lin
Advancement:
Spoiler:
Previous Totals
LP 40
SP 10
TIPs 3

Awards
(Including Journal)
LP 840
SP 250 (base)
* Reward half-price adventuring gear [total 80]:
Light Quartz [42.5], Bullseye Lantern [13.5]
Climbing Kit [18], 4 yds rope [6]
SP 170 (actual)
TIPs 3
14 days of Down-time

Available
(Including Journal)
LP 880
SP 180
TIPs 6
14 days of Down-time

 
Spends
LP
Avoid Blow 3: 300
Fireblood 3: 300
Great Leap 2: 200

Remaining Bank: 80 LP
 
SP
Forge Hide Armor from +0 to +1 [total +6/+1]: 50 [expires 1/27]
Remaining Bank: 130 SP
 
TIPs
None Used
Remaining Bank: 6 TIPs
 
[b[Down-time[/b]
7 days to forge armor from +0 to +1
7 days unused

Anoush
Posts:160
Joined:Wed Feb 22, 2017 10:53 pm

The Ghost Barge

Post by Anoush » Sun Jan 03, 2021 1:28 am

The Ghost Barge
GM: Serespar
Date: 2020/12/20

Keel's Journal:
Spoiler:

[A letter from Kun'da'lin Iceclaw, found among her parents' effects at the troll moot; written in Sperethiel.]

Dear Mom & Dad,

The more expeditions that I go on, the more I learn about the world. And I learn more and more about the Scourge and how it’s still affecting the world. A recent trip made me realize just how lucky I am to have been raised by you in a safe community in the mountains. Other people aren’t so lucky.

Here’s what happened to bring this to mind.

An elven wizard that I met recently, Calina, asked me to meet her at The Mallet, a bar in Throal. Calina is a little odd; she doesn’t talk, but is very smart and well educated. So I knew she must have a reason, right? So I got there early, about 7 am and enjoyed a good breakfast. Yes, taverns in Throal serve breakfast! Isn’t that wonderful?

Calina was there, as were three of her friends: Barag (a dwarf elementalist), Darius (a human archer) and Qwillem (a dwarf weaponsmith).

As we ate breakfast, Calina passed around papers explaining the situation. Calina had been contacted by the Throalic Guards. They were concerned about some recent incidents along the Coil River, south of Throal. There were three incidents: the first, at Fair Oaks Farm, then at Clearbrook Cove, and finally at Tassadae. The first two were on the east side of the Coil, while Tassadae was on the west. The incidents all occurred almost exactly one week apart, with the last one happening just one week ago.

The incidents were too gruesome to describe here, but all involved the sighting of what witnesses called a “Ghost Barge”, some kind of barge that was traveling south on the Coil. This barge was causing insanity, or illness, or something in many; causing damage in others. The guard expected to hear of a fourth incident any day now.

The guard had asked Calina, and companions, to investigate and report back. So we made plans to leave Throal and head south. We gathered some special items for raft-making and camping in the wilds, since we weren’t sure what to expect.

We reached the last big town, Kampung Gajah, before Fair Oaks Farm, and rather than take a riverboat, struck off across country. We approached the farm from a path near the river. The first thing we saw were three young orks — children — in a treehouse screaming and throwing things at an adult ork on the ground. They were yelling, “Uncle Jeb, Stop!” Meanwhile, Uncle Jeb kept muttering, “Gonna kill those kids…” Uncle Jeb looked strange. He had leaves and fungi growing out of his ears and some things were moving under his skin. Creepy!

Looking around, we also saw a huge herd of cows, easily over 200, moving toward a farmhouse in the distance. They weren’t acting like cows either. At one point, I thought I saw a cow lie down on top of the body of a wolf and then heard sucking noises. I told myself that I was imagining things, but now, well, I’m just trying to forget it.

Meanwhile, Jeb was trying to chop down the tree with the kids in it. The largest of the ork kids was fending him off with a pitchfork, but Jeb cut off the metal head of the fork. There was no way that I was going to let Jeb — Uncle or not — kill them. So, I raced up, battle shouting, and throwing a rock to get Jeb’s attention, then shouted “Come over here and pick on someone your own size!” Battle started.

Some of the — perhaps infected? — cows came over to help Jeb in the fight. And when we hit one of these cows, they exploded into a cloud of spores. Very nasty stuff, it made it hard to breath and tired us out. After Jeb went done, one the odd cows laid down on him and began sucking. Disgusting, not something I want to think about even now. Eventually, we killed Jeb and his cow allies. The kids were safe.

Right after the battle, we went to the river to wash off any remnants of the spores. But I don’t think we got it all, or got it in time. As we recovered, I felt strange, from the spores I think. I could sense something powerful, and its Name, the Burning Heart of Wrath, entered my head. The direction it pointed was towards the river.

The three kids were: Orlin (about 12 in human years), Anna (about 8), and Big Merle (about 6). We offered the children some food and candy that we had in our packs. The kids told us that all the adults had felt something strange, that led them to the river. Under the influence of whatever it was, they killed all the kids, except these three.

We noticed some patterns in the earth around the tree that the kids had taken refuge in. Around each of the places where a cow (or maybe a spore) had exploded, there was a clear area in which no spores were found. Nothing much was found in those areas at all. Calina studied the areas and concluded that there was a mix of nethermantice and elemental magic, along with something else she had never seen before, something totally alien, present, and that it was unlocked by blood magic. As I looked around, I felt a raging anger grow inside me, and in my mind’s eye saw a large crystal mass. the phrase “unweave the universe” kept running through my head, and was feeding the anger. I studied the plants, leading into the water, and could just stare for a while. I managed to pull myself out of it, but for a while after, I really didn’t trust myself.

The girl, Anna, was an apprentice herbalist, working with her Aunt Clara. She told us that the spores looked like the same ones that caused the Red Fungus, a fungus that grew on the hooves of their cattle. Her aunt made a salve that killed the fungus, and a tincture that she fed the cows to ward off the fungus. We figured the salve would also get rid of these spores, too. The salve was made from a plant known as q’walltz, an odd plant with red leaves. Anna said that Aunt Clara had a recipe book for this cure, plus others, hidden in the kitchen, and that to make it, she’d need equipment from the stillhouse. She said there was also a supply of the salve, ready-made, in the stillhouse. Aunt Clara also grew the q’walltz in the herb garden, so we could collect some of the plants there, too.

But we knew we had to hurry. The children told us that the adults had been talking about setting fire to the entire fire, all the plants, the buildings, even the animals.

So we watched the farmhouse and other buildings. The adults were moving around, not really directed. We decided that we would never be able to collect all the valuables here — the recipe, the equipment plus salve, and the plants — so we settled on the first two. Some of us, including me, went to the opposite side of the farmhouse area, and made enough noise — the adults seemed drawn to any kind of noise — to lure the adults away. Meanwhile, the other half of our group, along with the kids, found the recipe and the equipment. There were some close calls, but we all made it back to the big tree safely.

Our next stop was Clearbrook Cove, a settlement of t’skrang, along the Coil River. The river was wide there, with scattered small rapids. From a distance, we saw 5 large shaggy creatures that looked for all the world like piles of kelp. And they were attacking the t’skrang. The kelp creatures were focused on one of the t’skrang in particular, one that was carrying a basket of clams, even knocking him down and crabbing the basket from him. We ran forward to intervene.

But as we approached, i felt fiery, like a rage was building inside me. I clamped down hard on those feelings and continued, but the kelp creatures reacted most strangely to me, bowing and moving away deferentially. I had no idea what was going on, but it made me feel creepy, dirty somehow. We killed the creatures one at a time. Once dead, the creatures seemed to lose their form, and quickly were carried out into the river by the waves.

Then we talked to the t’skrang, who brought us to a series of islands dotting the river. They introduced their village as the App’Ressa Niall. Ever since the “Ghost Barge” had appeared on the river, these kelp creatures had been attacking the fishing village.

We asked them about the clams. The villagers told us that they ground the clams and made a paint from then. Their lahala had instructed them that her memories told her the paint would keep the creatures at bay. About then we noticed that all the rocks surrounding the village had been thoroughly painted white. The t’skrang called the creatures nori-monsters.

But the village was running low on supplies to make the paint. And their lahala had been killed in a battle with the nori-monsters. So, the t’skrang were mostly abandoning their village here. But their biggest concern was their large clutch of eggs that were still incubating. It was dangerous to move them, but also dangerous to leave them here for fear the nori-monsters would return and destroy them. So the village decided to take half the eggs with them and leave the other half here. Both groups of eggs would be under heavy guard.

We shared what we knew about the salve that worked against the cows. We exchanged some of the salve for some paint. Between the two concoctions, we hoped to be more prepared to fight the nori-monsters.

When the t’skrang moved their egg clutch to another location, we helped guard the caravan on its way, while some of the t’skrang stayed behind to guard the remaining clutch from the nori-monsters, and others defended the t’skrang rafts from the waters below. After seeing the t’skrang settled in a new site along the river’s edge, we built a small raft and headed to the west shore of the Coil River.

Heading south, we came to Tassadae Farm. The primary crop there was a type of bean, but the fields were on fire! As we rushed to help, we saw that there were Name-givers going about the fields, setting them ablaze. But these Name-givers weren’t using torches, oh on. Instead, they were literally on fire themselves! From a distance, we heard them calling out to the outraged, on-looking farmers, “It’s all about me! Destroy the whole world!” They had to be some kind of cultists.

So, we fought the blazing cultists and killed them all before they could destroy all the bean fields. Once the situation was under control, the farmers returned to the fields and put out the remaining fires. The farmers also told us that two of the village’s kids were dead from the red fungus. From what we had already seen, they had been lucky. But I certainly didn’t tell them that.

It turned out that these beans were the same kind of plants that the ork kids’ Aunt Clara had used to make the salve and tincture. What was the connection here? Calina reported that when we killed one of the cultists, the dead body crumbled quickly to dust. Barag added that the soil here had recycled plant material throughout.

By now, we could tell that we getting closer to getting ahead of whatever this Ghost Barge phenomenon was. So, we quickly moved on south along the river to try to find this Barge. And we did.

The barge was riding too deep in the water. Hmmm, but also too high. We didn’t know what to make of it. Now if it was an airship, I’m sure I could’ve figured it out, but water ships, well, that’s something else again. We peered into the porthole. We saw orks infected with the red fungus, nori-monsters, fungus and other creepy stuff. There was also some kind of material pressing outward on the hatch, and the material was pulsing and growing. The barge was about to blow up!

We worked fast. We killed the orks and then grabbed the papers from the captain’s desk. Then got as far from the barge as possible before it blew sky high! The spores went everywhere! So we all took a dose or two of Aunt Clara’s tincture as a precaution.

The next morning we began the long journey to Throal to give our report to the Guard.

So this is the sort of thing going on in the word these days. It certainly seems like there’s a need for adventurous individuals to go out and take care of problems like this, so normal people can get on with their lives in safety.

That’s all for now. Hope you’re all well.


Your loving daughter,
Kun’dal’in
Advancement:
Spoiler:
Previous Totals
LP 80
Lifetime LP: 3,150
SP 130
Lifetime SP: 510
TIPs 6
Lifetime TIPs: 6

Awards
(Including Journal)
LP 1470 (1400+5%)
SP 343.8 (275+25%) base
Half-price Forging of Broadsword from 0 to +2 by Qwillem: 75
SP 268.8 actual
TIPs 3
21 days of Down-time (last game was 11/4/2020)

Available
(Including Journal)
LP 1,550
SP 398.8
TIPs 9
21 days of Down-time

 
Spends
LP
Climbing, rank 3: 300
Great Leap, rank 3: 300

Train for 3rd Circle: 0

Wound Balance, rank 0 to 2: 300
Air Speaking, rank 1: 100
Melee Weapons, rank 4: 500

Remaining Bank: 50 LP
 
SP
Train to Circle 3 Sky Raider: 300
Forge Broadsword from +0 to +2 (Expires 3/5/2021): 0
[half-price, forging done by Qwillem]

Remaining Bank: 98.8 SP
 
TIPs
None Used
Remaining Bank: 9 TIPs
 
[b[Down-time[/b]
Train to Circle 3 Sky Raider: 5 days
Forge Broadsword from 0 to +2 (Expires 3/5/2021): 14 days
2 days unused

Anoush
Posts:160
Joined:Wed Feb 22, 2017 10:53 pm

The Monkey Orchid

Post by Anoush » Sun Mar 07, 2021 10:41 pm

The Monkey Orchid
GM: Serespar
Date: 2020/1/24

Keel's Journal:
Spoiler:
[A letter from Kun'da'lin Iceclaw, found among her parents' effects at the troll moot; written in Sperethiel.]

Dear Mom & Dad,

I recently visited the Servos Jungle for the first time. What an experience! If I never go there again, it’ll be too soon. The overwhelming heat and humidity made me long for the coldest, snowiest winters in the Throal Mountains. Still, I’m glad that I went there. I feel that we accomplished something good.

It all started because a disease was sweeping through Throal like wildfire. A lot of people died, and more were ill. My friend Calina asked me and a few others to join her. She’d been recruited to help with finding a cure to the disease. The others were Ornn (a troll Weaponsmith), Barag (a dwarf Elementalist), Vallone (a windling Shadow), Arphan (an elf Scout), and of course, Calina (an elf Wizard).

The first stop was to the Great Library to see a dwarf librarian, Lady Aesha. I’d never seen so many books all together in one place before, ever. It was amazing to consider that so many books even existed in the world. Lady Aesha explained that this disease ran in cycles, and that the current cycle was in the early stages. In previous outbreaks, the healers had used an extract from the Monkey Orchid plant to combat the disease, to form a medicine. Apparently, the healers needed a new supply of Monkey Orchids, which only grow natively deep in the Servos Jungle. Although the orchids are now grown in the Throal greenhouses, over the last generations, the Orchid’s medicinal effect had faded. She said the problem was that Throal didn’t have the right kind of fertilizer, more specifically, feces from a Great Ape Nature Spirit. So, our job was to travel to the Servos jungle and collect as much of this excrement as we could. Really. It was hard not to giggle at the thought, and then be appalled. They wanted as many bags of it as we could carry back.

We also visited Healer Potts at the Temple of Garlen. He gave us pointers on how to identify the feces and what things to avoid in the Servos. He suggested taking great care in crossing the Galaga River, if we had to. And to avoid the Flying Piranha fish. And to avoid the jungle tribes, as they often practiced Name-giver sacrifices. Sounded like a really wretched place.

Before leaving Throal we bought supplies for the jungle, including light-weight clothes, dried foods, some trade goods, and machetes for hacking through the underbrush. We also bought medicinal supplies, in particular preventatives for common jungle ailments, like dysentery. Oh yes, this was going to be a fine trip!

Next, we visited the greenhouses of Throal and talked to Moss, a questor of Jaspree there. It was eerie there. The plants seemed to move and sway as Moss moved, leaning forward as if to listen to her words. Spooky. She told us that Monkey Orchids were the children of a Nature Spirit, Named Kong, and an avatar of Jaspree. She warned us that Kong was known for his combat prowess, so we should do our best to avoid disturbing him lest he attack. And under no circumstances were we to kill Kong. As if we could. At one point, Moss touched Arphen on the arm, telling him that Jaspree was pleased. Odd, but after a confused pause, we just continued with the conversation. Moss told us that Kong, and the other giant apes, were astrally active, and that’s what made their, uh, excrement so vital to growing Monkey Orchids. We learned that once we’d collected the feces we should be sure to make sure to keep it moist, but not too moist. She gave us a huge collection bags, and afterwards we bought a couple more at the market.

To get to the Servos, we joined a caravan heading for Iron Bark Grove, led by Opir the Trader of House Mikul. There were a total of 16 of us in the caravan. They carried a variety of trade goods, everything from spicy foodstuffs, to artisan crafts, to pots, pans, utensils and knife blades. Along the way we quizzed Opir about the Servos, took notes and copied maps. Not only did we want to get where we needed to go, but to get back home safely as well. We reached Iron Bark with no problems, and spent one final night there, enjoying the comforts of civilization. Iron Bark is a mining town, known for the many earth elementals nearby. Some of our group indulged at the Crystal Rainbow Spa for the evening, but I settled for a quiet and early night in a comfy bed at the inn.

Bright and early the next morning, we strode into the Servos Jungle. It became clear very quickly that the place was an extremely complex eco-system. The mages reported that astrally the place was as bright as they’d ever seen, and with many and varied layers to the brightness. The astral was open here, even clear, which they said meant that we were unlikely to encounter horror constructs. Good thing, since from what I’d heard the natural residents would be dangerous enough.

A few days in, we spied a native man in a tree, pointing a blow gun at something. Then we noticed several large lizards at the base of the tree. They strode on two-legs, like t’skrang, but with heads and jaws more crocodile-like, without crests. These “dinos” as someone dubbed them, were colorful, about 6’ high at the hip, thus they towered over us. We helped the native fend off the dinos. We killed three, while the rest scattered. The native, Named Kwame, had been hunting for food for his tribe. We roasted one of the dinos that night and sent the rest of the meat with Kwame the next day.

Over the fire that night, we learned some things about the jungle from Kwame. At first, we tried asking about Kong, but Kwame made a sign as if to ward off the evil eye and said not to talk about that. But Kwame did warn us against two types of creatures: the husgapha and gumbala. The husgapha were the flying piranha fish that we’d already been warned about. Kwame said that they swarm in the river. But that there was one place with three mangrove trees where there were many fewer. He suggested we save some raw meat and throw it out to occupy the piranha while we crossed the river. He said that the same technique would work for evading the gumbala as well. To make the meat even more appetizing to the creatures, we collected some herbs that Kwame pointed out, smeared them all over the meat, and let the stuff marinate overnight. By morning, it reeked horribly, but we hoped it would save our lives.

Later, near the end of the evening, Kwame did quietly tell tales about Kong, about how Kong kept the Horrors out of the Servos Jungle during the Scourge, how Kong saved the native tribes of the Servos Jungle. Kwame pointed us to the southwest, to an area known as the Taboo Lands. He said that there would be a festival there in 9 nights, at the full moon. These lands were the center of where the Giant Ape Spirits dwelled long ago, and that if we searched for Kong, that was where to go. Kwame’s final admonition was to get help from the Wise Ones.

The next day, we followed Kwame’s directions and found the grouping of three mangroves near the Galanga River. Indeed, as we watched, we saw swarms of flying fish leaping out of the water and back into it. We also saw some logs on the water, that turned out to be gumbala. So we followed his instructions and threw the meat into the river, throwing it as wide as we could. While the husgapha and gumbala were occupied with the dino meat, we hurried across on a raft we’d built.

After a few more days of traveling, we heard drumming one morning. That night would be the full moon. We began drumming ourselves on hollow logs, in time and counterpoint to the drumming we heard. We laid out some of our trade goods, too. Eventually, we felt that people were all around us, watching. But we kept on drumming, while a couple of our group picked up the trade goods and offered them to the unseen watchers. We waited, and waited.

Suddenly the atmosphere changed. Then a native man appeared out of the nearby jungle brush. He wore bright clothing, feathers, and was covered in tattoos. He used some form of sign language. Calina was reluctant, but we urged her to communicate with the man. After all, she used sign language most of the time, so she should be able to talk to him. And she did. Eventually the two found common ground. Calina learned that he was a shaman from the nearby tribe that was doing the drumming. This shaman pointed to Arphen’s arm, right where Moss had touched him, and said that Jaspree had touched him there and was growing inside him, but that everything would be all right. Odd, again, I didn’t really know what to say about all that, and think that the rest of our group was just as puzzled.

The shaman, who introduced himself as Hainu, summoned a few guards and together they led us to their village. He asked us all to swear to keep the peace, and we did so. We explained our mission to the shaman. In response, he told us that what the dwarves did in the jungle was not good and that the jungle tribes pitied those who came to the jungle from outside, like from Throal. They considered anyone from the outside to be a taker, someone who took what they wanted from the jungle and never gave back. In contrast, the tribe said they lived in harmony with the jungle, giving and taking in equal measure.

The shaman talked to us about the Heir of Chawan. He said there was a pathway to a sacred grotto and that he’d take us there where we could prove our worthiness to ask a favor of the jungle spirits. I presumed the favor was to be able to collect the feces and take it out of the jungle. We learned that we needed to show strength, but gentle strength.

About this time, the drumming began intensifying, as if it was reaching a climax. The shaman led us down a pathway and we saw a stone wall, made of large blocks preventing us from going further. But somehow, the drumming — I think — made a gateway open in the wall, and then there was silence. From beyond the gate we heard a deafening roar and caught a glimpse of the shadow of a giant ape, with enormous teeth the color of moonlight, and eyes as dark as night. We all instinctively looked away. No one could look on that sight for more than a few seconds.

Hainu bowed to the giant ape — Kong, I presumed — and led us further along the path. He pointed us to a tunnel, but warned us not to stay very long. We hurried down the tunnel to what we expected was the Grotto of the Monkey Orchid Spirit. The grotto was round, with a circular pool in the middle, with a couple of small isles, really just rocky outcroppings, dotting it. There were several tamarinds on ledges and the isles — all monkey orchid spirits — with one elder on the other side of the pond.

The spirits attacked and we responded. Most of us at least. I was conflicted. I didn’t want to kill, or really even hurt them, so I great leaped my way across the grotto until I was standing right in front of the elder. Immediately, the water began to froth and bubble in a variety of patterns. The elder pointed to the path behind us, and we hurried back the way we came.

Once back in the village, Hainu looked thinner. But there was no sign of the festival or villagers. We learned that Hainu had been waiting in that same position for 10 days. How could that be? I swore we were only in the tunnel and grotto for a few minutes, at most. Yet, 10 days passed here on the outside.

Hainu brought us to the village Wise Ones. One of the them, Solon, welcomed us and gave us a bag of blessed seeds. He said that we proved ourselves worthy of them, and that these seeds — for the Monkey Orchid — would grow plants with the astral presence of the Giant Ape Spirit, and they would be able to save our people from the disease.

Somewhat bewildered, we accepted the gift and began our long trip back to Throal. We delivered the seeds to Moss, at the greenhouse, and later heard that they had been successful in creating an effective treatment for the disease. So, we accomplished something wonderful and have a fascinating story to tell about how we did it.

Hope you’re all well. I’ll be home to visit next month.


All my love,
Kun'da'lin

Advancement:
Spoiler:
u]Previous Totals[/u]
LP 50
Lifetime LP: 3,150
SP 98.8
Lifetime SP: 778.8
TIPs 9
Lifetime TIPs: 9

Awards
(Including Journal)
LP 1470 (1400+5%)
SP 343.8 (275+25%) base
Half Price Forge Broadsword to +3 (Ornn): 75
SP 268.8 (total)
TIPs 3
21 days of Down-time (last game was 12/20/2020)

Available
(Including Journal)
LP 1,520
SP 367.6
TIPs 12
21 days of Down-time

 
Spends
LP
Avoid Blow, rank 4: 500
Battle Shout, rank 4: 500
Great Leap, rank 4: 500

Remaining Bank: 20 LP
 
SP
Forge Broadsword from +2 to +3 (Expires 4/18/2021): 0
[half-price, forging done by Ornn]
Forge Hide Armor from +1 to +2 (Expires 4/18/2021): 100
Physican’s Kit Refile (3 doses) [Wt 1]: 25

Remaining Bank: 143.8 SP
 
TIPs
None Used
Remaining Bank: 12 TIPs
 
[b[Down-time[/b]
Forge Broadsword from +2 to +3 (Expires 4/18/2021, Ornn]: 7 days
Forge Hide Armor from +1 to +2 (Expires 4/18/2021): 7 days
7 days unused
Last edited by Anoush on Wed Apr 28, 2021 2:17 am, edited 1 time in total.

Anoush
Posts:160
Joined:Wed Feb 22, 2017 10:53 pm

Pick a Peck of Pumpkin Pie

Post by Anoush » Fri Mar 19, 2021 6:53 am

Pick a Peck of Pumpkin Pie
GM: verse86
Date: 2020/3/18

Keel's Journal:
Spoiler:
[A letter from Kun'da'lin Iceclaw, found among her parents' effects at the troll moot; written in Sperethiel.]

Dear Mom & Dad,

A couple weeks ago, I traveled down to Skyreader Island with some friends for the annual Pastry Festival. The festival was a lot of fun! Wonderful food, delicious pastries, fun games to participate in, lots of people, and generally a fun time. I went there with Kayapo (a winding shaman) and Scribliz (a human beastmaster), both of whom I knew from previous trips, and a group of their friends, too. In all it was Kayapo, Scribilz, me, along with Bronom (a troll swordmaster), Redroum (dwarf illusionist), and Sobelle (an elf master of the hunt). Quite a diverse group.

The entire island smelled like pure sugar, with a variety of other delicious smells mixed in. Everywhere we went, there was food! Pastries, cakes, tarts, cookies, you name it. Most were sweet, but there were plenty of savory choices, too. And there was a different contest every hour. Everything from pie eating, to storytelling, to bobbing for apples. I joined in a number of the contests, but didn’t do well. Maybe it was all the food, either because I was too full, or I was too interested in what delicacy was on the next table. But we have a lot of fun!

One of the would-be t’skrang pastry sellers, P’itur, was dejected. He’d ordered an entire cartload of pumpkins, but they hadn’t arrived yet, and now it was too late. He still wanted that cartload even if it was too late for the festival itself. He knew there’d be others on the island afterwards who’d happily buy his pies. He asked us to please find the cart and get his pumpkins for him. We agreed, thinking it would be a pleasant way to walk off some of the goodies we’d been eating. P’itur insisted on coming with us.

We got back to the mainland and headed south. Not too far later, we found the pumpkin carts, abandoned with many of the pumpkins smashed, and some rabbit-like creatures eating the rest. But these weren’t just rabbits. They’d didn’t shoo when you yelled and waved your hands. Oh no! Others in the group recognized them as something called a preces, a fierce, carnivorous rabbit with long arms. If they’re carnivorous, why were they eating pumpkins? Sobelle studied the preces and realized that something was wrong with the preces and the entire situation. She believed that someone had set up the preces to attack the cart, and had probably done something — magical perhaps? — to the preces to get them to act abnormally. She also added that preces were poisonous.

There was nothing for it but to attack the preces and kill them all, hoping none bit us and poisoned us. There were more than enough preces to go around, so we all had our hands full for a while, but we put them all down. Sobelle did get poisoned. To help, P’itur pulled a pumpkin pie out of his pack and offered it to our poisoned pal. Puzzled, she accepted the pie and proceeded to eat the entire pastry. The pie prevented the poison from hurting her further. Now that’s a tasty medicine!

As we recovered from the battle, P’itur pulled out some pickled peppers from his pack and passed them around. Puckery, they also helped us recover more quickly from the damage. Another delicious medicine!

P’itur was profoundly sad as he looked over his pulverized pumpkins. We all helped him collect seeds so that he could at least have roasted pumpkin seeds on offer, and perhaps even grow his own for next year.

Kayapo had a perspicacious idea to look for other pumpkin patches nearby. After all, it was harvest season and there were bound to be some pumpkins still in the field. So he flew high up and indeed found a pumpkin patch not too far away. We cleared off the pumpkin cart of dead preces and pummeled pumpkins, and headed towards the patch. We began picking pumpkins, piling them into the cart. But as we watched, some of the pumpkins in the patch began to move. Pumpkins don’t move, we all thought. Then we saw that about three of the pumpkins were really way too big to be normal pumpkins — perhaps as big as 3 yards on a side! There was something badly wrong in this pumpkin patch.

We battled those huge pumpkins, killing them one after the other. These pumpkins were more like horror-pumpkins, with long tentacle like vines that reached out to grab us and squeeze us. Eventually, we defeated them, but it was tough. Bronom really got the worst of that fight.

After recovering, we gathering up as many normal pumpkins as we could and returns with our wagon piled-high with pumpkins. We knew we’d be eating delicious pumpkin pie before long thanks to our new friend P’itur!

My love always,
Kun'da'lin
Advancement:
Spoiler:
Previous Totals
LP 20
Lifetime LP: 4,620
SP 143.8
Lifetime SP: 635
TIPs 12
Lifetime TIPs: 12

Awards
(Including Journal)
LP 840 (800+5%)
SP 250 (200+25%) base
TIPs 3
21 days of Down-time (last game was 1/24/2021)

Available
(Including Journal)
LP 860
SP 367.8
TIPs 15
21 days of Down-time

 
Spends
LP
Fireblood 4: 500
Wound Balance 3: 300

Remaining Bank: 60 LP
 
SP
Forge Hide Armor from +2 to +3 (Expires 6/10/2021): 150

Remaining Bank: 217.8 SP
 
TIPs
None Used
Remaining Bank: 15 TIPs
 
[b[Down-time[/b]
Forge Hide Armor: 7 days
14 days unused

Anoush
Posts:160
Joined:Wed Feb 22, 2017 10:53 pm

Do You Even Lift?

Post by Anoush » Mon May 03, 2021 7:35 am

Do You Even Lift?

Keel's Journal:
Spoiler:
[A letter from Kun'da'lin Iceclaw, found among her parents' effects at the troll moot; written in Sperethiel.]

Dearest Mom & Dad,

I’ve been hearing about a personal trainer here in Throal, someone Named Montazh. He’s famous and mysterious, and by all accounts a miraculous trainer. I finally got to meet him and even had a few training sessions with him. But first the story of how I earned that training.

I ran into some adventurers, people that I knew from previous missions, who introduced me to a couple others and to finally another Sky Raider, ba windling, Named Youghdel, who was organizing a group to arrange for training from Montazh. Complicated, I know. The others were Kayapo (windling Shaman), Redroum (dwarf illusionist), and Rendar (ork cavalier).

Together we went to the office of Montazh’s gym too meet him and talk about getting training from him. Montazh turned out to be the buffest troll I’ve ever seen. Muscles upon muscles, and fast as lightning! I’d heard that Montazh charged an exorbitant sum for his services, so I was relieved when he asked for our services instead. I had no idea what I was getting into though.

Montazh had some friends, Throalic diplomats, who’d gone missing while in the Servos Jungle trying to establish diplomatic relations with some of the tribes there. The diplomats had left Throal two weeks ago, but hadn’t sent word back since. Montazh wanted us to accompany him to the Servos to rescue his friends. Further, rather than trekking overland to the Servos, Montazh would fly the whole group of us there in his very own drakkar, D’Chopa. If I hadn’t been impressed before, I was now!

The next morning we met at the airfield. The ship was in very good shape, but smaller than the drakkars used by most of the troll clans. Luckily, Montazh had his own well-trained crew of mostly t’skrang to pilot the ship, led by a skilled lieutenant, Named Wanso. So I could relax and enjoy the ride.

The trip was short. About six hours after lifting off in Throal, Montazh set down the drakkar in a clearing in the northern reaches of the Servos Jungle. The diplomats had last been seen in this area. I found their trail easily enough and we set off. The tracks led us quickly to a small fort, made mostly of wood, with a few guards posted.

I really need to tell you more about Youghdel. Most windlings seem energetic and enthusiastic about life to me, but Youghdel was over the top. It seemed like he never stopped rocketing from placee to place, person to person, and he delighted in saying the most outrageous statements with no concerns for how others would take them. It was wonderfully freeing to travel with him! Appalling at times, but definitely exciting!

Youghdel immediately approached the guards, then there was lots of shouting, and practically accused them of kidnapping the diplomats. Obviously, a fight ensued and the guards were dead. We did find the diplomats — who had been kidnapped — inside the fort. So our actions were justified after the fact. The diplomats were none the worse for wears, so after patching ourselves up a bit, we headed back to the drakkar, thinking what an easy job this had been.

Still, the guards had seemed nervous, with worried glances over their shoulders. And they made comments to Youghdel about “Don’t let the thing kill us?” and the like that made me wonder what was really going on here. Afterwards, we examined the guards’ bodies and found that they had tainted wounds, inflicted by some kind of animal that pre-dated our battle with them. Strange. Then Rendar saw something weird on the astral and Kayapo talked to the spirts and learned about an attacker at the fort, someone called “The Loner.” Kayapo began calling this unknown creature “Anorak,” although I had no idea why; perhaps that had meaning in the windling tongue?

After all this, we began retracing our steps back to the drakkar. But somehow the jungle had become confusing. It was difficult to find our tracks and it took all my skills as a navigator to keep us on track. Youghdel was in the lead, and before long he atracted a huge ghostly wolf, that we believed was an umbral stalker. This creature could pop in and out of astral space. So it would attack, and then leave, appearing in a different place to attack someone else in our group. It was confusing and frustrating. There was a lot of juggling of position to protect the diplomats, and get the creature to attack us instead. The creature was wearing us down, but eventually we got the better of it. Redroum finally killed it with a phantom flame spell.

Once it was gone, we hurried back to the ship and flew off back to Throal.

All my love,
Kun'da'lin
Advancement:
Spoiler:
Previous Totals
LP: 60
Lifetime LP: 5,460
SP: 347.6
Lifetime SP: 1,412.6
TIPs: 15
Lifetime TIPs: 15

Awards
(Including Journal)
LP 2,100 (2,000 + 5%)
SP 516.3 (388 + 25%) (Base)
* Reward: Increase Dexterity (Step 7) to 17: 245
Tips 5
21 days of Down-time

Available
LP 2,160
SP 618.9
TIPs 20

Items Used:
None

Spends
LP
Increase Dexterity (Step 7) to 17: 800
Wound Balance Rank 4: 500
Climbing Rank 4: 500
Thread Weaving Rank 1: 100
Fire Heal Rank 1: 100
Navigation Rank 1: 100
** Navigation skill rank 1 replaced with Air Sailing skill rank 1

Remaining LP: 60

SP
Increase Dexterity (Step 7) to 17: (Reward)
Advance to Circle 4 Sky Raider: 500
Grappling Hook: 10

Remaining SP: 118.9

TIPs
Requested TI Broadsword: 18
Remaining TIPs: 2

Down Time
7 days to Increase Dexterity (Step 7) to 17
5 days to Advance to Circle 4 Sky Raider
9 days remaining

Anoush
Posts:160
Joined:Wed Feb 22, 2017 10:53 pm

Moar Montazh

Post by Anoush » Thu Jul 08, 2021 1:22 am

Moar Montazh
GM: Chris D
2021/06/19
4M

Keel's Journal:
Spoiler:
[A letter from Kun'da'lin Iceclaw, found among her parents' effects at the troll moot; written in Sperethiel.]

Dearest Mom & Dad,

Do you remember that trainer, Montazh, that I told you about? He really is remarkable. When I trained with him last time, my speed and agility incresaed, literally, by leaps and bounds. Amazing! So when I heard that he was looking for help with a job and offering discounted training as a reward, well, I had to do it.

Youghdel (the windling sky raider0 was organizing this job, too. In addition, Orfen (the elf elementalist), Kayapo (the windling shaman) and Orlam (the human elementalist) plus me, of course, formed the group.

We met with Montazh in a back room at his gym. He offered us each a small silver cup full of a really noxious liquid which he claimed would make you tough. Certainly the smell alone, not to the mention the taste, would toughen one up. Yuk!

Then he got down to business. Apparently, Montazh anticipated a high demand for this, uh, tonic. One of the key ingredients was swamp birch bark. So, he needed us to gather about 200# of this bark in the Servos Jungle and return to Throal with it. Plus, he wanted us to make arrangements with the jungle natives to gather about 100# every 3 months and ship it to Throal for him. He laid out terms of how much he’d pay, and it all seemed very reasonable and businesslike. Montazh showed us a map of the Servos Jungle with three areas marked on it, places where he knew there was a good supply of swamp birch.

Montazh gave us a letter of agreement to show the natives or others that explained that we were working for him, what he wanted, and what he’d pay for, in what timeframe. Very detailed. He also explained that he only wanted the inner bark, not the rough outer bark, and explained how to harvest it sustainably. Once harvested, the bark had to be dried for a couple of weeks, and then it could be easily shipped. Overall, we estimated that it’d take two or three weeks to harvest enough fresh bark to get 200# dried.

We collected various gear, like machetes, sacks and twine and even donkeys, for harvesting and transportin, and the usual gear for surviving the Servos, like extra water skins, mosquito ntetting. The Servos is a pretty miserable place. Every night I’m in that jungle, I dream of floating is a refreshing mountain pool.

Anyway, our overall plan was to get to the Servos and hire locals to do most of the harvesting, and then continue with the regular shipments. The problem was we didn’t have any business contacts in the Servos. Youghdel suggested going to see a pair of dwarven merchants — Ben and Jerry Dykar — we did a lot of trade in the Servos. First, we tried one of their retail outlets. Youghdel was so out of control and threatening, that the city guard were nearly called. It took some quick talking on my part, plus a few silver, to calm down the clerk. A few silver more, and he told us where the company’s headquarters were, and where we might find the owners. We also learned that we were the second group to inquire about swamp birch bark; the first inquiry was from Montazh. No matter, it turned out that both owners were out of the city, so we had to make do without.

The trip to the Servos was uneventful, and we quickly found the closest of the three locations where the swamp birch was known to grow. Nearby, we found a cleared area with a a newish dwarven village, called Greenview. The dwarves were industriously clearing more fields. Kayapo talked to the local spirits and learned that the spirits wanted him to kill the villagers. The spirits said that the dwarves were destroying the jungle, rather than living in concert with the jungle plants and animals.

We talked to the villagers anyway about harvesting the bark for us. They made a plan to chop down the trees in place, then drag them to the village and process them for bark there. None of us liked that plan. The trees would be killed, and within a few seasons, they’d all be gone. This seemed like the sort of thing that made the spirits angry, too.

We told the villagers that we’d think about it, and continued on to the next swamp birch group. Along the way we were attacked by a flock of nasty birds, called crakbills. Nothing we couldn’t handle, but we spent the night resting up. The next morning, we found the second grove of swamp birch. But there was no nearby community, so we moved on.

Along the way, we spied two large flying, winged cats. They spoke to us in riddles, and we puzzled out the answer to be “No trespassing.” So we detoured around their territory.

The third grove of swamp birch was near a Cathan village. After Kayapo convinced the village elder, an old woman, to talk to us, we quickly realized thar these were like-minded people. They recognized the value of the business arrangement, and insisted on harvesting the bark sustainably, without killing the trees themselves. We spent a pleasant three weeks with the villagers, harvesting and drying bark. We pcked up 200# of it and traveled to the nearest

Hope you’re all well. I really enjoyed your last letter.

Love,
Kun'da'lin
Advancement:
Spoiler:
Previous Totals
LP: 60
Lifetime LP: 7,560
SP: 118.9
Lifetime SP: 1,683.9
TIPs: 2
Lifetime TIPs: 20

Awards
(Including Journal)
LP 2,310 (2200 + 5%)
SP 468.8 (325 + 25%) (Base)
* Reward: Increase Strength (Step 6) to 14: 180
SP 288.8 (Actual)
Tips 3
21 days of Down-time

Available
LP 2,370
SP 407.7
TIPs 5

Items Used:
None

Spends
LP
Increase Strength (Step 6) to 14: 800
Thread Weaving Rank 2: 200
Fire Heal Rank 2: 200
Fire Heal Rank 3: 300
Navigation Rank 2: 200
Threads (Journeyman) 1 and 2 to Jakob's Razor: 500

Remaining LP: 170

SP
Increase Strength (Step 6) to 14: (Reward)
Forge Armor 3 (Hide Armor): 150
Item History: Journeyman 1 (Jakob's Razor (Orlam)): 37.5 (Half-price)
Research: Journeyman 1 (Jakob's Razor (Orlam)): 75 (Half-price)
Kelia's Antidote: 62.5

Remaining SP: 82.7

TIPs
Remaining TIPs: 5

Down Time
6 days to Increase Strength (Step 6) to 14
7 days for Forge Armor 3 (Hide Armor)
7 days for Item History: Journeyman 1 (Jakob's Razor (Orlam)) [in parallel with Forging]
7 days for Research: Journeyman 1 (Jakob's Razor (Orlam))

1 day remaining
Last edited by Anoush on Thu Nov 04, 2021 3:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Anoush
Posts:160
Joined:Wed Feb 22, 2017 10:53 pm

Community Service

Post by Anoush » Mon Aug 02, 2021 9:04 am

Community Service
GM: Dvarim
2021/07/09
4M

Keel's Journal:
Spoiler:
[A letter from Kun'da'lin Iceclaw, found among her parents' effects at the troll moot; written in Sperethiel.]

A couple of months ago, I passed through the village of Odhapur, south of the Throal Mountains, nestled in the foothills. At the time, my main thought was “What an unhappy town!” No one seemed happy, or to be thriving. The soil wasn’t great for crops, yet their was a source of fresh water and the village was situated near the major trade routes. So there was potential.

I met one old elven couple — Ivaren and Aurae — who were struggling to keep their farm going, and my thoughts kept returning to them, wondering if I could do something to help. So, on a pleasant spring day, I decided to make the trip to Odhapur and see if I could help. I had no real plans, just a desire to be useful.

I went straight to the elves’ farm and offered my services, promising a couple of week’s service. I helped repair fences, clear new acreage, plant some fields, and performed many more odd jobs. I learned that the couple’s son had left the village a number of years ago, looking for better opportunities.

Ivaren had been coughing a lot recently, but he refused to rest. Aurae told me that he’d been coughing for about 5 weeks at that point, with the fits getting worse and worse. In the village, I went looking for an herbalist or healer of some kind, and instead discovered that other adepts had come to Odhapur for a variety of reasons. Caesar, the human Illusionist, was there learning how to produce liquor from locally grown beets. Z’mokki, the t’skrang Thief, was there visiting a friend who’d lost his left leg in a mining accident. And Orlam and Orfen were there, both Elementalists, one human and the other elven, gathering information from the village’s sage.

Orfen has a reputation for the healing arts, so I had him examine Pa (by this time, they considered me a long-lost daughter, I think). But Orfen couldn’t uncover anything definitive, but did her best to help him.

The main talk in the village was about a group of trolls who’d settled nearby, higher in the mountains, and were raising a special kind of large sheep. A lot of the villagers were out-spoken against the trolls, even though they’d never seen them let along talked to them. I could almost feel the town slipping into despair.

We talked to a local tracker, an ex-Throal military ork Named Ogala Bukhal. She gave us directions to find the troll moot. So Caesar and I made the trek up to visit the trolls. Between Caesar’s silver tongue and my knowledge of trollish culture, we hoped to find some common ground.

The route was steep in places, but altogether it was a pleasant couple hours walk in the cool mountain air. At the moot, we first found some grazing lands and a lot of very, very big sheep. I don’t know much about sheep, but these seemed to have a different kind of wool (hair?) that others I’ve seen and they were much larger, and had huge, curling horns. A couple of young trolls were there, armed with slings, to protect the sheep from predators. They directed us to the moot center, and we met the troll chief, Mogrin Velhalt. He was a practical man; the first we glimpsed of him was when he was helping birth a lamb.

Caesar took the lead in the conversation. Boy, that guy can talk! He was the epitome of neighborly, inviting the trolls to a party at the village. In return he learned that the trolls had just left their kaer a few months ago. The land here is ideal for raising their sheep. The only problem with the site was that the markets where they hoped to sell their wool were far away. I saw a sample of their woolen products — a mitten — and indeed, the wool was silky soft. I imagine there’d be quite a market for this in Throal.

That set both Caesar and I to thinking: the village produces bricks which they ship, via the nearby trade route, to Kampung Gajah and other places. Why couldn’t the trolls use the same route?

When inviting them to the party (which so far as I knew only existed as yet in Caesar’s imagination), we learned that next week is a feast day for the trolls. They were hesitant about sharing that holiday with the village, but Caesar overcame all their objections. The trolls even planned on bringing food (roast mutton?) with them so that villagers would be spared the expense of feeding an entire troll moot. There were about 150 trolls in the moot, and Mogrin promised that most would be at the party.

We returned to Odhapur and got caught up with the other adepts. More people were sick, not just Pa. The main symptoms seemed to be coughing and insomnia. Orfen speculated that the problem wasn’t getting better because the patients couldn’t get enough rest to let their bodies recover. Made sense to me. In fact, Orfen explained that because so few could recover, the result was that a larger and large number of people were sick. The local healer was getting overwhelmed.

We wondered if something external was stopping the sick people from getting sleep. So, we got sleeping draughts for three of the sick, and watched 3 others. One of the sick people that we watched was Pa. Apart from a restless, mostly sleepless, night, we noticed nothing out of the ordinary.

We repeated this procedure the following night. But this time, Caesar heard a strange hum, and then saw a shadowy figure creep into the window. It looked like weird 3’ tall monkey, with an oversized head and long fingers. This monkey put his fingers on the temples of one of the sick people for about one minute. Then moved off. Caesar saw no astral imprint for the creature. He cast an ephemeral bolt at it and the creature disappeared. In the morning, we investigated the inside of the cottage. We found a dry, desicated cocoon high in the rafter, about the size of a 40 pound dog. There were still a few strands of silk attached, fibrous and moist. Above it, we noticed that the thatch roof had been disturbed. Perhaps that was how the creature that made the cocoon originally got in and out?

On the third night, there was no disturbance; all the sick were much calmer. Pa felt much better in the morning, too.

Surveying the village, we found a cocoon in the cottage of each of the sick people. All were old and dry, none were freshly made.

To track down the creature who was crafting the cocoons, we talking to Ogala again. She quickly found some odd tracks that led from the cottages into the nearby woods. We found areas with silken strands and empty cocoons, and then some full cocoons. As we approached the full cocoons, we heard a humming and the cocoons started to open. Large silkworms of some kind emerged from the cocoons and attacked! When they bit you, they stayed attached, sucking your blood, or something. After a brief battle, the remaining monkeys — kreescra, we learned later — ran off. We patched ourselves up, including poison antidotes just in case.

The Elementalists put their heads together and talked to the villlage sage. Their conclusion was that the silkworms and the monkeys work together. The worms “soften” the victims’ minds, and are serving the monkeys.

All the sick villagers recovered in short order and were healthy for the party/feast day celebration. We did our. best to make it a success with assorted preparations. I cut steps into the steepest parts of the route leading between the village and the troll moot. Others helped with getting food ready. Caesar made sure there was more than adequate supply of beet-shine on hand. All of us talked to lots of villagers to boost their morale and enthusiasm. Others planned skits and musical performances. The party was such a success that both the villagers and the trolls vowed to do it again next year.

Even better, we helped establish communications between the two communities. I’ll check back in a few months, but I think we’ve planted enough seeds that they’ll be working together and trading in no time.


That’s all for now. All my love,
Keel
Advancement:
Spoiler:
Previous Totals
LP: 170
Lifetime LP: 9,870
SP: 82.7
Lifetime SP: 1,972.7
TIPs: 5
Lifetime TIPs: 23

Awards
(Including Journal)
LP 2310 (2200 + 5%)
SP 468.8 (325 + 25%)
Tips 3
21 days of Down-time

Available
LP 2,480
SP 551.5
TIPs 8

Items Used:
None

Spends
LP
Melee Weapons Rank 5: 800
Avoid Blow Rank 5: 800
Battle Shout Rank 5: 800

Remaining LP: 80

SP
Forge Armor 4 (Hide Armor): 200
Forge Weapon 1 & 2 (Jakob's Razor): 150
Item History: Journeyman 2 (Jakob's Razor): 112.5 (Half-price, Orfen)

Remaining SP: 89

TIPs
Remaining TIPs: 8

Down Time
7 days for Forge Armor 4 (Hide Armor)
7 days for Item History: Journeyman 2 (Jakob's Razor) [in parallel]
7 days for Forge Weapon 1 (Razor)
7 days for Forge Weapon 2 (Razor)
0 days remaining

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