Day 8:A - Aboat Time to Escape!

[Iron Dragoon]

Session Start: Mon Oct 20 11:47:31 2014
Session Ident: #dunes
* Now talking in #dunes
* Topic is 'Lucy(32)>Veren(27)>Moore(26)>Pepo(22)>Strange Thing(21) '
* Set by Kotono on Tue Oct 14 14:08:47
<Sunshine_Ko> ----
<Kotono> > His thoughts are a panicked mess at the moment: Just fear as he's trying to figure out what to do now. When Lucy's next question comes, he says, "It's our crusade," he says, "To exterminate the snakes."
<Kotono> <Pepo> 'Ask about Old Kamhoff,' Pepo reminds the group, his tail swishing impatiently back and forth.
<Kotono> <Lucy> 'I remember,' Lucy assures Pepo. "Whose crusade?" she presses on. "Where did it originate? Which powers and island nations support it?"
<Kotono> <Veren> "Is there a pass code we can use to get past patrols and out of the harbor?"
<Kotono> "Ours," The man looks around, towards Lucy's voice. "All of ours. Bamagan supports it." Veren's question gets a momentary pause, as his thoughts shuffle from fear to surprise. But he answers, "Mukano rides the black donkey, that's the pass phrase to get into the docks, for the collaborators."
<Lucy> "Give me the names of your ships."
* Veren memorizes the phrase.
<Kotono> "The Orison, Apple's Dane, The Blue Lady, The Greener, Romtaldo, Steady Hound, Mikahal, Wyvern's Cry, Cat's Cradle, The Argasan, Giant's Fall and Yuelo." He answers as his mind starts to clear a little bit. He's still terrified, but Veren can hear his thoughts starting to solidify. Taking in the situation, trying to figure things out.
<Kotono> *Lucy then, dur.
<Veren> "What types of ships? Which is the flag ship? The fastest? The most powerful?"
<Lucy> "What is the name of the commander at the docks?" Lucy asks, for her part. "Describe him and Porghson, down to their clothing."
<Kotono> "They're all full lightskimmers," he answers, "The Wyvern's Cry is the flag ship and I don't know which is fastest." A moment in between replies, where he looks around a bit. "Purple Wind Cantos is in charge of the docks. Tall elf, all muscle and carries an elf sword. Good at magic and fighting, wears armor decorated with purple. Porghson wears all black but no armor. Doesn't need it. He's made
<Kotono> of metal."
* Lucy figures it would be reasonable he would think of what he is telling her, and takes a moment to check that she is not being lied to.
<Veren > OOC: I'm guessing that's not enough detail to shift into them?
<Kotono> He doesn't seem to be lying. He's thinking about trying to escape or improve his situation, but he doesn't seem to be lying. OOC: Not really, beyond vague generalities.
<Lucy> "I have what I need," Lucy tells Veren, thinking to Pepo, 'Anything I overlooked?'
* Veren nods.
* Veren positions himself behind the pirate, ready to execute the pirate on Lucy's word.
<Pepo> 'Ask about old Kamhoff?' Pepo reminds her again.
<Lucy> 'I asked about their ships. It is not among them,' Lucy responds, frowning mentally. But it really costs her nothing, and she pauses in thought as she voices, "Oh yes, tell me about Old Kamhoff?"
<Kotono> "Who?" The guard asks, as his thoughts turn to confusion. "Never heard of him." His thoughts echo the same.
<Lucy> "No matter," she tells the guard, heading out of the alley. "Goodbye."
<Moore> Moore speaks up, still invisible. He does his best to sound as imposing as possible. "Did you have help in overtaking this city? Sympathizers?"
<Pepo> 'He must be a citizen then. That tells us which ships to focus on,' Pepo concludes, the information useful even if not definitive.
<Kotono> Another invisible voice gets the soldier to look around, but he answers, "Yes," he says. "Good people sick of the sickness of the snakes."
<Moore> Moore nods to himself. That would certainly make sense. He flies over to Veren to whisper to him, "That's all I had."
* Veren moves to end the pirate, attempting to cut his throat.
<Kotono> OOC: Quick attack roll?
<Veren > roll 1d20+12+2 Attack (Moore bonus)
* Hatbot --> "Veren rolls 1d20+12+2 Attack (Moore bonus) and gets 21." 12 [1d20=7]
<Kotono> OOC: Hit. Damage. Counts as a sneak attack.
<Veren > roll 1d4+2+4+4d6 Sneak Attack (Moore bonus)
* Hatbot --> "Veren rolls 1d4+2+4+4d6 Sneak Attack (Moore bonus) and gets 30." 12 [1d4=4][4d6=4, 6, 5, 5]
<Kotono> A quick slash across the throat ends the pirate before he can react. He slumps down, bleeding out in a pool of his own blood. OOC: Free act. Now what, y'all?
* Veren moves to check the body over for loot.
<Veren > OOC: Did we kill the other ones? I know one continued the patrol, but the others are all mind-jacked, right?
<Pepo> OOC: head down to the harbor and search among the civilian ships for Old Kamhoff's? Check the harbormaster's records maybe?
<Veren > OOC: Do we want to stick with the civilian boat as the target, or do we want to take over a pirate ship on the down-low?
<Kotono> OC: They're all off. Loot post coming momentarily.
<Lucy> OOC: Let's head for the harbor. I'll look for anyone who looks to be dressed like a mage or someone useful fleeing. I want to aim for the civilian boat.
<Veren > OOC: Sounds good to me.
<Kotono> OOC: Loot post.
<Kotono> OOC: Post if you're taking any, y'all.
<Moore> OOC: If Veren doesn't take the coins Moore will.
<Veren > OOC: Posted.
<Kotono> OOC: Post back.
<Kotono> OOC: Post real quick if any of you want to make any claims, otherwise we'll go on.
<Moore> OOC: Just taking a veil.
<Kotono> OOC: Okay then, moving on. Y'all are heading to the harbor, right?
<Veren > OOC: Yep. Keeping an eye out for mages or other interesting people.
<Kotono> roll 1d100+20
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d100+20 and gets 58." 12 [1d100=38]
<Kotono> roll 1d100+20
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d100+20 and gets 95." 12 [1d100=75]
<Moore> OOC: Moore is going to guide them the way he memorized, on that note.
<Kotono> OOC: Okay.
<Kotono> The party walks for about a half hour. The streets are ruined and fire blazes. It's a smoky, miserable disaster zone now, mostly devoid of people. Moore's route avoids most problems, at least - and when you approach the harbor, you see a goodly guard of about half a dozen pirates standing guard. As you come closer, "Halt," one cries, "On pain of steel!" This one's shorter, perhaps a tall dwarf
<Kotono> or a short human, but the veil makes it hard to tell.
<Moore> OOC: Also, Moore is going to switch his aura back to motivate dexterity if he can.
<Kotono> OOC: Sure.
* Veren pauses, then speaks up.
<Veren > "Mukano rides the black donkey."
<Kotono> The pirate replies with a slow, long nod. He turns and whistles loudly. "Got friendlies here!" he shouts back, "Pass it along!"
<Lucy> Since the city has fallen and no one of interest had the sense to run to the harbor where she could see them, Lucy had by now disposed of her serpent pendant and is more than happy to play the role of a collaborator.
<Kotono> As the other pirates visibly relax, the short one turns back. "The Purple Wind'll want to talk to you himself. He'll be along soon."
<Lucy> "Of course," Lucy agrees pleasantly. "Can we wait further inside?"
<Kotono> "Not until he gives the say so," he says. Ahead you can see the tall sailed ships, the glow here intense. It's getting painfully hard to see without eye cover, each of you starting to get a headache.
<Pepo> Pepo would like nothing better than to close his eyes, but he can't really count on this being a safe situation to blind himself in. Really escaping by sea doesn't seem very prosperous at all...
<Moore> Moore flies next to Lucy to whisper as quietly as he can, "Do you want me to try and find the ship we're looking for? Just nod if you do."
<Lucy> "Yes, of course," Lucy says pleasantly, nodding to the pirate. "We'll just wait here until that, then."
* Veren rubs his eyes, hoping to alleviate some of the pain for the moment.
<Moore> Moore nods and starts to fly off to go investigate the civilian ships! Maybe the names are right on the sides or something!
<Lucy> After learning that squinting her eyes doesn't work, Lucy retrieves her liberated veil, cleaned properly with prestidigitation, and puts it on.
<Kotono> The veil helps Lucy immediately. She can see through it, but the glow is dimmed. Veren rubbing his eyes doesn't really help, he finds. OOC: #evildunes, Moore.
<Veren > "I don't suppose you have a veil I can have?"
<Kotono> The party doesn't have to wait long - a minute or two at the most. The Purple Wind Cantos is a blonde haired elf, over seven feet tall. His armor covers a body that is obviously exquisitely toned and he carries a delicate and long blade across his back. His green eyes are narrow and seemingly sharp as they go over each of you in turn. He crosses his arms and stands 20ft ahead of the party, coming
<Kotono> past the soldiers without comment. "Purple Wind Cantos," he says in a pleasing, warm voice. It has a natural melody to it, easy to listen to. "You two are?"
<Lucy> "Just Lucy," she responds, barely able to control her excitement now. "I can't believe it worked! I saw it happen and I still can't believe it!"
* Veren smirks and answers.
<Veren > "I am Veren."
<Kotono> "Like a charm," he smirks back, "Come in." he starts to lead the party in, before reaching into a pouch on his side and tossing Veren a veil. "Put it on already."
* Veren does so.
<Veren > "Thank you."
<Pepo> Pepo closes his eyes and follows close behind Lucy, trusting to his ears and nose for now.
* Lucy debates picking Pepo up, but eventually decides there is no need to draw a direct link between them just yet if the pirates haven't connected the dots themselves.
<Kotono> This makes it so much easier for Veren to see. As you walk in, "The operation's a complete success," The Purple Wind remarks as his smirk grows, "So tell me, Lucy and Veren, where did you want to relocate to?"
* Veren points to Lucy.
<Veren > "She makes the decisions. I'm sure you know why."
<Lucy> This is why knowledge is so important! Is he testing them-- oh who cares, she doesn't have the time to Detect Thoughts.... "Anywhere but here," Lucy says quite honestly.
* Veren nods.
<Veren > "We didn't get to check many places out. The snakes kept us under their thumb too much and we didn't want to give anything away."
<Kotono> "We know just the place, then," The Purple Wind says. The harbor is largely intact - save for the giant statue near the front and away, surrounded by a guard of a dozen pirates. Bodies are about, but have been dragged aside and out of the main paths. It's otherwise a harbor, with wooden docks extending out into the glowing ocean.
<Lucy> It sounds ominous, and Lucy decides to try and take a glimpse into his thoughts.
<Lucy> OOC: Will DC21
<Kotono> roll 1d20+15
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+15 and gets 27." 12 [1d20=12]
<Kotono> roll 1d20+19
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+19 and gets 26." 12 [1d20=7]
<Kotono> The spell shatters on the Purple Wind's iron will. He stops and turns back, "Hold a moment," he declares.
* Lucy looks appropriately wary.
<Kotono> As this happens, Moore returns to the party. The Purple Wind seems consumed with looking around in the meantime, a scowl growing on his face.
<Moore> Moore flies in and whispers again to Lucy.  He keeps it as simple as he can. "I found it."
<Lucy> 'Moore returned,' Lucy thinks to Pepo. 'He said he found it. Can you reach out to him and have him guide you? I'll use that as an excuse to follow.'
<Kotono> roll 1d20+13
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+13 and gets 18." 12 [1d20=5]
<Pepo> 'I can't see in this light,' Pepo thinks unhappily to Moore. 'Give me directions and I'll go with you. The others will follow the runaway cat.'
<Moore> Moore nods... to himself, since he's still invisible. 'This way,' he thinks. He will give Pepo instructions on how to get to the ship. 'I can create a distraction if we need one.'
<Pepo> Pepo stalks off, trusting fully to Moore's directions. Let's hope he doesn't get his left and Pepo's left mixed up...
<Kotono> OOC: Go ahead, Lucy.
* Lucy happens to look about when the cat has gained quite a bit of distance, and she gasps in dismay. "Mister Pepo, that's dangerous!" she exclaims, giving chase. "Come back here!"
<Pepo> Pepo brazenly ignores her!
<Moore> Moore flies along with Pepo, just in case of an errant issue if he needs to pick him up! He looks ready to cause that distraction if they need it!
<Veren > "Ah, sorry about her. I should go collect her before she wanders too far. Give us a minute and we'll be ready to set off."
* Veren follows after Lucy like a doting man-servant.
<Kotono> Cantos breaks away from his distracted search, "Hold!" he calls, taking a few steps towards Lucy. OOC: Go ahead and describe your gambit here a bit more, sec.
<Lucy> Having waited long enough that she would need to outright dash after Pepo to catch up, Lucy is of course running at her top speed to have any hope of retaining eye contact with the wayward cat.
<Moore> Moore turns around and decides to put his distraction into action! OOC: I'm going to use permanent image. What do you need me to describe?
<Veren > "Lucy! Get that cat under control!"
* Veren continues following her!
<Moore> OOC: http://dndtools.eu/spells/players-handbook-v35--6/permanent-image--2689/
<Kotono> OOC: Basically everything about the image. What is it?
<Moore> OOC: Moore is going to create an image as large as possible (which appears to be 120 cubic feet) of a snake that screams and drips poison. A green snake as close to the Medusa's as possible.
<Kotono> OOC: Okay.
<Kotono> The image appears - and suddenly all hell breaks loose. The Purple Wind and the pirates react, a great din as everyone else flees. Away from this, the others reach the ship in question. The old man is there, putting out the gangplank, "Get on, get on," he calls, looking over towards the illusion. Meanwhile, Pepo can smell the scent of another cat on board, faint but there.
* Lucy doesn't need to be told twice, smiling at the old man from behind her veil.
* Veren moves onto the ship as well, taking position near the plank with his dagger ready in case someone decides to follow.
<Moore> Moore smiles and goes to follow after the others, letting the screaming snake scare the pants off the pirates for now! He suppresses his invisibility once on board as well.
<Pepo> He follows that scent, and the sound of the gangplank coupled with Moore's directions so he doesn't end up in the light.
<Kotono> This goes well enough and soon the party's on. "Nice to meet all of you," The old man says, "Kamhoff, and it sounds like it's time to get the hell out of here," He cracks a grin at this, "Finally! These old bones were getting bored!"
* Veren nods to the man, but keeps his vigil until they're out of the harbor.
<Lucy> "Just what made you wait until now?" Lucy asks curiously. "And would you happen to have another veil, cat-sized or normal?"
<Pepo> 'That was more straightforward than expected,' Pepo muses in the minds of his companions.
<Moore> "I picked one up if you want me to try and fit it for Pepo." Moore says as he reaches into his pack.
<Lucy> 'However it might look,' Lucy responds, 'they are still in the middle of an invasion.'
<Lucy> "Yes, that would work," she then agrees, accepting Moore's offer and trying to make it fit after cleaning it with prestidigitation.
<Kotono> "I'm not going out into the sea alone, that's suicidal," Kamhoff remarks with a huff, hurrying ahead. On the foredeck is a great ship's wheel, and he starts to move it immediately. As the ship begins to peel out, a great din in the harbor around the snake image - which abruptly vanishes as you pull out - you can hear Kamhoff say, "Yeah, I have something for that for my own cat."
<Lucy> "Even better!"
<Pepo> Pepo submits to having the oversized veil plastered all over his face. But something cat-sized would clearly be better. And they can clearly trust a man who takes care of his cat!
<Moore> "Well, this has been an interesting few days..." Moore comments. "From one place to another."
<Kotono> Rustling around in his robes, he tosses something to Lucy. It looks like a pair of cat-sized glasses, the lenses being dark cloth. "They'll stay in place with magic," he says. Meanwhile, as the ship pulls out and away, none of the other ships reacting? 30ft behind the party he appears. The Purple Wind is there, stepping out of a door-shaped hole in reality. "Nice trick," he remarks, spinning
<Kotono> his blade like a staff, as traces of blue fire begin to run across the sword's edge. "But that's enough of the heroics," he smirks, "Lay down your arms and surrender, or this is going to get violent."
<Veren > "Yes. We need time to gain our feet."
* Lucy stops holding the oversized veil in place with her own magic, and uses mage hand to retrieve it after telling Pepo to close his eyes for a moment. Then, she tries to fit the goggles properly.
<Kotono> The glasses fit right into place, covering Pepo's eyes. He can immediately see properly with them on.
<Moore> Moore turns his attention to the Purple Wind with a frown. "Too interesting, if you ask me..."
<Kotono> Old Kamhoff turns and gives the elf an obscene gesture, "Fuck off, I want to leave already!"
<Lucy> "Thank you kindly for waiting until I was done with that," Lucy tells the pirate politely. "Would you mind returning, Mister Purple Wind? We really want no trouble or seek any revenge upon you."
<Pepo> Finally able to see, Pepo gets a good look at the Blue Wind! A shame he's not in good fighting shape right now, so whatever he does it'll need to count.
<Kotono> With a tip of his head to Lucy, "Almost wish I could," he says with a hint of amusement, "But no. Can't risk you being a gambit by the snakes."
<Kotono> OOC: This is about to descend into violence, so unless any of you have something salient to say or to try and defuse this, we'll pause here and start with init next time.
<Veren > "And if we could prove that we are simply uninvolved persons caught in the middle?"
<Lucy> "Oh. Oh!" She almost jumps in place. "We are, what you call it, new? We had literally arrived the previous day! And your soldiers did helpfully kill our handlers!"
<Veren > "Newborns, Lucy."
<Moore> "Even if we were a gambit of the snakes, which we aren't, by the way, what difference does that make to you? We don't have any intentions of returning to this city or this island. Wouldn't it be easier for both parties to just completely forget about each other and move on to more important things?" Moore asks with a smile. "I just don't think we're really worth the trouble, in the grand scheme
<Moore> of things."