Day 11A: Freeport Rocks!

[Iron Dragoon]

Session Start: Mon Oct 27 12:38:38 2014
Session Ident: #dunes
* Now talking in #dunes
* Topic is 'Lucy(28)>Veren=Moore(21)>LSB(12)>Pepo>Kamhoff(10)  '
* Set by Kotono on Wed Oct 22 12:11:07
<Kotono> ---
<Kotono> On the horizon is Freeport Rock. It is a series of small rocky islands jutting out of the sea, connected by the half torn down ruins of old lightskimmer ships. Ship decks connect the various islands and most of the buildings are made of the same. There are docks jutting out in all places, dozens of ships around. The entire place looks sprawling and ramshackle. "Here we are, Freeport Rock." Old
<Kotono> Kamhoff calls, "Home to ships, treasure, opportunity and lots of fucking rocks."
<Pepo> The name did give it away, Pepo thinks as he perches up above the cabins, looking over at where the ship's headed.
<Veren> "What should we be aware of in this place? Leadership? Laws?"
<Moore> Moore takes a look across the islands. "How long are we staying here?" He asks, wondering if it'd be time to try and make some money or anything.
<Kotono> "It's mostly fend for yourself. Basic interest makes sure no one's a total cock," Slowly guiding the ship into a free dock, "Make too much trouble and other people will make trouble for you." Scents come as you glide in - the scent of a city, all the unpleasantness that it implies (along with rodents, cats and other things to Pepo). "At least a few days while I resupply and hunt down someone to
<Kotono> steer the ship."
<Lucy> "Perhaps we could look for one of those blind light wizard navigators together?" Lucy offers to Kamhoff.
* Veren observes the 'locals' as they enter port and memorizes pieces of clothing he likes, then steps out of sight for a moment to shift his vestments to something more appropriate and acceptable to this place.
<Kotono> There's people all about -a  mishmash of humanoids, odder things yet, a golden skinned man with a scowl, a tall giant walking along a sabre toothed tiger, a pack of dogs led by a dog the size of a man and so on. It's less uniformity and more a rainbow of things.
<Kotono> "Sure," Old Kamhoff says, "Anyone else want to go hunting for one with me?"
<Veren > "I suppose I will accompany you."
<Pepo> Pepo silently jumps off from his perch and rubs against Kamhoff's leg to signal his assent.
<Moore> "Oh, sure, I guess we're all going to go together, in that case!" Moore says. "Probably will keep us out of trouble, anyway."
<Kotono> OOC: In that case...
<Kotono> roll 1d100
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d100 and gets 48." 12 [1d100=48]
<Kotono> roll 1d4
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d4 and gets 1." 12 [1d4=1]
<Kotono> The streets are winding and irregular. You go across the grand deck of a long ruined ship, through an alley and down a long, meandering road. The streets are pretty packed and noisy - stalls are out as well as buildings, selling this or that. One catches Moore's eye - a female pixie runs it. She has bright blue hair, a matching blue and white hat with a feather, dark purple tunic and orange
<Kotono> pants. Her stall has lots of tiny little things, clocks and figurines. They're all made of metal and strange little gears seem to dominate.
* Veren keeps an eye on what's going on around them, watching for little pickpockets or unusually interested persons.
<Kotono> OOC: Make a spot check, Veren.
<Veren > OOC: Perception?
<Kotono> OOC: Yes.
> roll 1d20+12 Perception
* Hatbot --> "Veren rolls 1d20+12 Perception and gets 19." 12 [1d20=7]
<Moore> Moore will make a mental note to return to this pixie! He'll wave in that general direction to a fellow nature-lover but otherwise stay with the group.
<Lucy> Having left her axe back on the ship along with her research material, Lucy looks entirely harmless and spends her time observing the people. Some must be obviously blind and mentally unbalanced, and that would mean she'd find their navigator!
<Kotono> Veren's eyes are sharp - and as an unremarkable human passes Lucy, he can note his hand dipping into her pocket. Hard to see or catch by the victim, but he has the right angle for it. Meanwhile the female pixie waves back and calls in a cute little voice, "Hi! Oh, come on over and take a look at these!"
* Veren reaches out to grab the thief's arm and produces a knife to try and hold against the persons wrist, while announcing, "Lucy, thief."
<Lucy> "That's so terribly rude!" she gasps.
<Kotono> The man is unremarkable - plain features and clothes, plus he's a bit dirty. "Gah!" he cries, freezing up for a moment at Veren's knife.
<Veren > "Return it, or I will remove the hand."
<Kotono> Meanwhile, Pepo can note something - there's a gray cat underneath the pixie's stall. It's lying down but awake, eyeing Pepo disinterestedly. A little bowl of water lies besides him.
<Lucy> "Removing the hands of inept thieves is a very sensible practice," Lucy agrees, nodding to herself.
<Kotono> The thief slowly removes his hand from Lucy's pocket, empty of anything. In roughly accented Common he says, "No harm done." he says, trying to take a step back.
* Veren raises an eyebrow at the inept comment, noting to himself that Lucy missed the thief herself, but says nothing.
<Pepo> Pepo doesn't pay much mind to the other cat, the drama with the thief more interesting to his eyes.
* Veren retains hold on him, but allows him to remove his hand.
<Kotono> The pixie flies up a bit and watches as well, "Oooooooh."
<Veren > "As she is the victim, she will make that decision."
<Moore> Moore is distracted from anything further with the other pixie as he looks down to the attempted robbery! "I... I'm not so sure we need to go to that sort of extreme, do we?"
* Lucy taps her lips. "My, my... I suppose I could let it go if you tell me about the local mages," she muses, looking into the would-be thief's mind.
<Kotono> OOC: DC?
<Kotono> roll 1d20+4
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+4 and gets 9." 12 [1d20=5]
<Lucy> OOC: 21
<Kotono> He holds his hands up defensively, "Um, down there?" he says uncertainly, pointing to the end of the street. There's a two story building there, decorated with a symbol of a star outside. He's thinking it's the place that makes him feel better when he gets those rashes and itches.
<Kotono> A few people watch all of this, but most continue on. Still, you're starting to gather a bit of a crowd.
<Kotono> Old Kamhoff shakes his head, "Dumbass," he says, thwapping the thief upside the head, "That's not a mage's house if it has that symbol up there! Use your brain instead of wasting all your blood in the wrong head!"
* Veren releases the man but keeps his blade visible, and readies himself if the man tries to bolt.
<Lucy> "How about where I could find a light mage?" Lucy asks curiously, discreetly watching the crowd to see if she gets a reaction. "I understand they navigate better than anyone?"
<Kotono> A little bit, a few murmurs at that, "I don't know," he says, slowly. HIs thoughts are turning it over - confusion at first as he works through the words in Common. From the way he's thinking, you get the distinct impression he has trouble with language. Oddly his thoughts are clear when not thinking about how to phrase things, not with a normal sign of low intellect (int 13, incidentally, since
<Kotono> you scanned him). Anyway, he turns it over in his head and eventually thinks ooooh. "Ship steerer?"
<Lucy> "Yes."
<Kotono> "Don't know," he shakes his head, "Really don't!" Which checks out in his thoughts, incidentally.
* Veren watches the gathering crowd for suspicious reactions.
<Lucy> "How useless," Lucy says with a huff, continuing down their original path.
<Veren > "Are we done with him then, Lucy?"
<Lucy> "Yes, yes. I don't care about him anymore."
* Veren relaxes and returns his blade to its hidden sheathe.
<Kotono> OCO: Perception again, Veren.
<Veren > roll 1d20+12 Perception
* Hatbot --> "Veren rolls 1d20+12 Perception and gets 25." 12 [1d20=13]
<Kotono> At that, the thief quickly flees. Old Kamhoff scoffs, "Just an idiot pickpocket," he remarks, "With extra idiot." No one in the crowd seems odd.
<Kotono> "Oh hey, are you interested in mages," The female pixie waves, "Like magic?"
* Veren inspects the pixie more fully now, looking for details and inspecting her stall.
* Lucy pauses, tilts her head and then changes direction. She approaches the pixie's stall, and smiling brightly tells her, "Why yes!"
<Moore> Moore's attention is turned back to the pixie as he flies over, trying to avoid the crowd by just going above them.
<Kotono> It looks like a rickety stall. Nothing unusual here. Just a bit of noise as people come and go. "I can use some magic," she offers, "You need it to make accurate clockworks."
* Veren eyes the clockworks for a moment, but knows nothing of them or magic, and so goes back to trying to subtly scan the crowd for anything suspicious or interesting.
<Lucy> "Are they expensive?"
<Kotono> "Somewhat," she says, picking up a little clock, "The clocks run at least 100 gold, they're hard to make. The soldier and simpler clockworks run for less," she says, "I learned how to do this from an old woman who appeared one day. She knew how to do the most wondrous things." Moore gets a nod at this, "Hi there," she says in Sylvan, "I don't suppose you remember anything?"
<Veren > "The clocks are used for keeping a normal schedule? I imagine the sea of bright light hinders this?"
<Moore> Moore shakes his head and responds in Sylvan out of respect. "I'm sorry, I don't. I remember my skills, but not why I have them."
<Lucy> "Interesting," Lucy muses. "I might return for a quality clock in the near future."
* Veren eyes the items.
<Kotono> The pixie sighs, "I was afraid of that." She slumps, "Thanks anyway." Turning back to Common, "Exactly! I sell most to ship captains and the like."
<Veren > "... What is the difference between the clocks?"
<Moore> "Well, actually... if you sell to ship captains, we're looking for someone to navigate our ship. A... what was it, Lucy, a light wizard?" He asks with a turn to Lucy.
<Lucy> "I rather think she heard me the first time," Lucy notes in amusement.
<Kotono> "A clockwork clock doesn't rely on water, the sun or magic to work. They're reliable and small," she says, picking one up to dangle it. It looks to be made of iron and attached to a chain. "One of those? Try Buogharen a few islands down. I hear they gather there, especially when there's a lot in town."
<Veren > OOC: So a soldier clock is iron and tougher or something?
<Lucy> "Is this your usual spot?" Lucy inquires. "Or do you just set up shop wherever is available in Freeport?"
<Kotono> OOC: Oh no. There's like little figurines and the like made of clockwork. They aren't clocks at all, but geary.
<Kotono> "Oh, around and around," she waves about, "Freeport Rock's like that. People just find a place each day."
<Veren > OOC: Ohh, gotcha. Just little statues and stuff.
<Lucy> "So if I wanted to find your wares, I would be asking for...?"
<Kotono> "Miss Miimi's Magnificent Magics!" she declares proudly.
<Lucy> "Nice alliteration," Lucy says in approval. "Well then, it has been a pleasure. Good day."
<Moore> "I'm sure we'll be back, Miss Miimi!" Moore exclaims. "Thanks for your help!"
* Veren nods to the pixie and moves off with the group.
<Lucy> "Do you, in fact, wish to take a look at Buogharen?" Lucy asks Kamhoff curiously.
<Kotono> "Not the lead I had, but hell," Old Kamhoff falls in, "Maybe it'll pan out."
<Kotono> OOC: Ready to move along then, y'all?
<Lucy> OOC: Okay
<Veren > OOC: I be.
<Kotono> roll 1d100
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d100 and gets 72." 12 [1d100=72]
<Kotono> The rest of the trip is without incident. Buogharen is a building built atop a rather sharply rising rock, a wooden stairway leading up to it. It has swinging saloon doors to within, letting the light of the sea flood inside. There's a sign of grapes and a green, tusked orc's head above the door.
<Veren > "Interesting place."
* Lucy strolls inside!
* Veren follows.
<Pepo> Pepo slinks in behind Lucy's ankles.
<Kotono> Pepo can note that it reeks of rodents within. Lots of them. Big, fat, tasty rodents. Within you find a ramshackle set of mismatching tables and chairs.  There's no main bar, only doors leading deeper within. Near the door is a rough, stone skinned behemoth about 10ft tall, with long dark hair. He has a spear within reach and glowers at the party, but says nothing. At one of the tables are a
<Kotono> threesome of men - each shaved bald with white, unseeing eyes. They're talking amid themselves in a strange language only Lucy can discern. "Then the third piton must be removed for the fifth," The second one says, gesturing with one hand, as if pulling something away. "The past must give to build the future."
<Kotono> "Yep, that's sure as hell three of them," Old Kamhoff mutters.
<Lucy> "Greetings, fellow mages!" Lucy calls out happily in common.
<Pepo> Pepo goes to see if those rats are as tasty as they smell.
* Veren eyes them, considers what he knows of the mages, and decides it would be better for his mental health not to mind-scan them, and instead, takes a position nearby where he can watch the room.
<Kotono> OOC: #evil, Pepo.
<Kotono> "'lo there," Old Kamhoff approaches, joining Lucy.
<Moore> Moore just flies near the others and stays quiet for now!
<Kotono> The three turn to the interlopers. "The light bends around you anew," the third one remarks, "Welcome."
<Lucy> She guessed right! They can actually speak a normal person language! Mentally patting herself on the shoulder, Lucy asks, "May I join the three of you?"
<Kotono> The first nods, "Gather chairs and sit," he invites.
* Lucy pulls a chair up to the table, quick to take a seat. "I just got to Freeport," she says by way of introduction. "My name is Lucy. A pleasure to make your acquaintance!"
<Kotono> The first speaks now, "Wind and fire dance in the black sea, while trees fly above the changing sky. I am Bolethon."
<Kotono> "I can't stop looking," the second replies, "Call me that."
<Moore> Moore blinks, about to open his mouth to ask if they're supposed to call him 'looking,' but decides not to do so.
* Veren gives the second one an odd look, and almost immediately marks him off the list, even though it isn't his boat.
<Lucy> "Were you traveling together, or did you just happen to all meet here?" Lucy inquires, as time stretches and the last of the mages doesn't introduce himself.
<Kotono> The third smiles, "I am Flanagan who is not Flanagan. Flanagan will do." He answers, "I heard his death cry, you understand."
* Lucy blinks, peering at him.
<Kotono> "Told you," Old Kamhoff says as he settles down. "Par for the course."
* Veren focuses on the last one, becoming wary of him.
<Kotono> "Flanagan is dead. Long live Flanagan," The third continues to smile, "I see in the light that he was meant to be more. Meant to live and grow in the eternal glow. Treachery struck him down. Blood flows like rivers there."
<Kotono> "I can't stop looking," The second repeats, "But everyone else is blind!"
<Moore> Moore hesitates for a moment before he speaks up, "So you're... going to carry on his light, so to speak?"
<Lucy> "I already got your name," Lucy tells him gently. "There is no need to repeat it, Mister I can't stop looking."
<Kotono> "For now, for now," The third answers, "The light must travel on."
* Veren turns to look at the first one, hoping for a more reasonable interaction.
<Moore> Moore nods, with the look of someone who doesn't understand at all.
<Lucy> "Is anyone's light interested in traveling on our ship?"