[0] Morgrave - Skyship Tower

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Sep 7, 2022 9:39 pm
S'sylin was not an individual who cared much for company. He had a fat book on the history of Xen'drik with him that he perused by day. Only at night would he emerge regularly from his cabin, appreciating the crisp night air and the unobstructed sight of the stars above. The fact that most passengers had retired by the time he emerged also pleased the dark one..
Sep 12, 2022 5:23 pm
OOC:
Sorry for the delay, there was actual work at work last week and I was exhausted.

Proficiencies for your time spent preparing:
-- Cualli: Perception
-- Laaesh: Legerdemain
-- Rythorn: Once per day, you can give 5 temporary HP to anyone who eats your cooking (provided you have sourced the ingredients yourself and aren't cooking someone else's food).
-- Samarath: Navigator's tools and Environment
-- S'sylin: History
-- Verin: You can now read Giant
The voyage is as uneventful as the weather, if a little slow, and on the morning of the fourth day, the captain makes an announcement to the passengers - at least those on deck - that they are now within visible range of their destination. The port of Stromreach is the first step into the wilds of Xen'drik, and people from all over Eberron make their way there to begin their adventures. Above it all, shines a golden beacon that shoots a ray of light into the sky that is easily visible even in full daylight. Many sages believe that the statue that holds the beacon - known as The Emperor - is the representation of an ancient titan who fought off the demon hordes that once threatened Xen'drik. It is this beacon that the captain calls you all to see.

You have just a few moments to take in the once-in-a-lifetime sight before the airship lurches and begins to plummet towards the sea!
OOC:
If you were in your cabin, you can either brace for impact (STR - Athletics) or try to get above deck (AGI - Acrobatics).

If you're already on deck, you're going to need to try to stay on your feet (AGI - Acrobatics) or try to spot a good place to try to make an emergency landing (WIS - Environment).
Sep 12, 2022 5:40 pm
When the captain puts out the call to see The Emporer, Verin takes just seconds to make sure her gear is secured properly before racing to the deck to witness the impressive sight firsthand.

Unfortunately, she only has mere seconds to take in the majestic view before the airship begins to plummet, and Verin scrambles hastily to try and right herself.

Entranced by the majesty of the sight in front of her, Verin is caught completely off guard by the sudden descent of the ship, and as she begins to tumble she looks around for something -- anything -- to aim for.
OOC:
I am assuming "(wis) environment" is perception?
OOC:
Oh, ok... so this is how it's gonna be with the dice roller here... fan-effing-tastic. Lol
Last edited September 12, 2022 5:47 pm

Rolls

Acrobatics (DEX) - (1d20+5)

(1) + 5 = 6

Perception (WIS) - (1d20+5)

(2) + 5 = 7

Sep 12, 2022 5:49 pm
OOC:
In cabin?1; on deck?2
Wow! This isn't like the maneuvers at the start of our trip!
OOC:
try to spot a good place to try to make an emergency landing (WIS - Environment).
Lash weaves an arm and a leg into some cargo netting.
Last edited September 12, 2022 5:55 pm

Rolls

Where am I when the ship pitches? - (d2)

(2) = 2

WIS. Look for a safe space - (d20+4)

(16) + 4 = 20

Sep 12, 2022 7:39 pm
As the airship lurches, Samarath shoots to his feet. Swiftly rolling all his maps and stuffing them into his backpack, he held Gem tightly as he dashed out of his room and tried to make his way up to the deck despite the movement of the airship.

Rolls

Acrobatics - (1d20+1)

(15) + 1 = 16

Sep 12, 2022 8:31 pm
Rythorn is unpersuaded by the captain's call. I can take it in just fine from the ground, he thinks to himself. He's checking through his bag, making sure everything that he prepared for the journey is there, when the ship begins its unscheduled descent.

Rythorn quickly runs into the hall where there's a view of the stairs out before finding a location to brace himself and holds on with all of his might.

Rolls

Athletics - (1d20+6)

(14) + 6 = 20

Sep 13, 2022 10:39 pm
S'sylin was having a delightful time in his cabin with his book when the ship lurched and he was thrown from the bed. The sinking feeling in his stomach told him they were dropping from the sky. Panic set in a brief moment until his will asserted itself and told him he could do nothing to change that, but he should get ready for the impact. He hoped it would be on water, or it wouldn't matter much. With that sobering thought he grabbed a firm hold for dear life..

Rolls

Athletics (Brace for impact) - (1d20+6)

(15) + 6 = 21

Sep 14, 2022 2:51 am
Cualli had not unpacked and had spent very few waking moments in his cabin, so naturally, he was on the main deck when the invisible force suspending them in the air suddenly let go. He made an attempt to hide the look of total distress from his face as he grasped for the rails

Rolls

Acrobatics - (1d20+2)

(4) + 2 = 6

Sep 20, 2022 5:23 pm
The next few moments - is it minutes? It feel like hours, but surely it's no more than a few seconds - are a pandemonium of shouts, screams, and the creaking and cracking of the ship. Laaesh manages to spot a relatively smooth section of coastline in between all the cliffs and just manages to get his voice heard by the captain who orders the crew to aim their uncontrolled descent as close to it as possible. The audible tumult rises in volume as the ship falls, crescendoing in a violent shuddering crash as the airship crashes into the beach, half in the water and half out. The ship breaks in two as the water-side of the airship lurches, being pulled to a stop more quickly than the sand, and as the ship comes apart around you, Cualli, MaJunior, and Laaesh are thrown from the ship along with much of the crew

That kind of impact could kill someone, and your lives flash before your eyes but-- no, that's Professor Alacandra! She's thrown up some sort of magical net in front of you, and it kills your momentum without hurting you. The net is large enough that it partially stops the some of the other crew as well, but the rest of the crew isn't so lucky, and neither, it appears, is Professor Alacandra. In stealing your momentum, she took it on, and as you fall to the beach mostly unscathed, she's thrown far down the waterline, to where she lies in a crumpled, unmoving, heap.

As you pick yourselves up and dust yourselves off, you can take a moment to look around. There's not a lot other than thick foliage inland of you, and the beach was probably beautiful before the airship crashed into it. There's now a long line of broken wood and unidentifiable metal devices that are strewn across the sand, or washing up from the ocean. At the eastern end of the beach, there's a small path, and if you look up into the sky above the trees there, you can still see Stormreach's beacon just before in vanishes into the clouds.

There's a more pressing matter though. With their binding gone, the elementals are crawling out from under the airship too, and they do not look happy...
OOC:
1d6 damage to each of the three: Cualli, MaJunior, and Laaesh, which I'll let you roll.

It's impossible to tell from this distance if Alacandra's alive or not. You can see that the majority of the crew is alive, but they are in no condition to move much.

Also, since we're concerned with exploration, I will be trying to offer combat alternatives if you are interested in them. In this case, there are at least three approaches to handling these elementals that I can think of and only one of them is combat. I won't tell you what they are though. ;)
Sep 20, 2022 6:06 pm
Verin lets out a groan as she picks herself up from the sand, looking around to assess just how bad things are. When she sees the Professor, she cries out, "NO!" and begins to run, clutching her side and stumbling with a small cry of pain before gritting her teeth and making a beeline for the downed educator.

Rolls

Damage - (1d6)

(2) = 2

Sep 20, 2022 9:43 pm
Lash groans in pain. He pushes past his pain to assess his injuries. He determines nothing is critical. He curses himself for not being able to use his Shield spell.
When he focuses beyond himself the elementals give him a fright. Looking for a place to hide he again sees the Professor lying in a heap. He rushes, no, limps to her. Professor! Can you move? Can you speak?
Last edited September 20, 2022 9:52 pm

Rolls

Dmg - (d6)

(2) = 2

Sep 21, 2022 1:38 am
Cualli gets back on his feet and spits out a mouthful of sand. He takes in the general chaos of the scene before him. He watches Lash and Verin run off in the general direction of the water when the panic finally hits him.

My things!

Cualli grabs a handful of sand and starts making a beeline for the porthole window of his lower deck cabin attempting to avoid the notice of the elementals.

Rolls

Ouch! - (D6)

(1) = 1

Sep 21, 2022 7:42 am
Samarath groaned as he got to his feet, checking that Gem was still cradled safely in his arm. Ironically, the fact that he was still on the staircase on the way to the deck had helped him because he had something to hold on to until the ship was nearer the ground. Still, what a harrowing way to land.

He looked around for his fellow students and spotted the creatures. What were those things coming from the ship? Did they crew it or even power it somehow?
OOC:
Doing a history check to see if I know what the elementals were used for in the ship, and an arcana check to see if they are likely to be hostile or not. Do let me know if there are other checks I should be doing!

Rolls

Arcana - (1d20+3)

(4) + 3 = 7

History - (1d20+3)

(14) + 3 = 17

Sep 21, 2022 1:32 pm
The deafening caucaphony of the ship ripping apart was like the tolling of the bells of doom. All around him S'sylin could hear wood warp and splinter even as the momentum of the vessel carried it forward in its death throes. Finally, as it slowed and he felt himself moving horizontally rather than vertically the dark dragonborn began hoping very carefully he might live through this disaster. Then, finally, the ship had stopped and he dared open his eyes. The first thing he noticed was that one side of the ship was gone, and he was looking over the ocean strewn with flotsam and wreckage. Very carefully he stood up, acutely aware of the battering he had received, but he did not believe himself injured. Fortune favored him, and he was sure many would not be so lucky. But he was not out of danger yet. The broken ship was hardly a safe place to stay in. He hurried to the locker at his cot to retrieve his gear which was luckily still unpacked. He then picked up the weapons he had taken along, a quiver of javelins and a mighty studded war club. Then he tried opening the door but found it blocked on the other side. Instead he carefully edged to the broken hull and peered down. It looked safe enough to slide down it, even if he would land in the water. He was close to a beach. It took his mind a moment to process what he was seeing on the beach. It was the other half of the airship. He could see straight into its insides, like a beached skeleton. He had been very lucky indeed..

There was no point waiting. He slid down into the cold embrace of the sea. Thankfully he was an excellent swimmer while his club floated and it took him only a few minutes to reach the beach side, where he collected his breath as his clothes dripped. As he gathered his strength he saw the wounded or dead strewn about as a few measly survivors tended to them. And then the shifting of the wreckage drew his attention. Much to his surprise he saw the elementals emerge. And the creatures seemed rather agitated. The simple realization that something that was strong enough to lift the airship into the sky would likely have no trouble removing his limbs from him made S'sylin choose the better side of valor, and he decided to make a run for the trees. As he was not inclined to watch there and see the elementals dish out that gruesome fate to anyone else, he decided to air his plan to the other survivors.
"Run! The elementals are loose! Run for the trees!"
Sep 21, 2022 5:44 pm
Professor alacandra does not respond to your words, and when you touch her, you find she's covered by a fine gauze-like field that's apparently holding her in stasis. It must have been the last thing she had time to do before passing out, so her injuries are probably grievous. As far as the elementals go, it's no great secret that almost all airships are powered by them. The ships themselves are made of soarwood, a tree that becomes lighter than air when dried for lumber. But for the propulsion itself, elementals are used. Some were cajoled or pleaded with, others had pacts of service made with them, and some were simply forced to act, either by device or by dragonmark. Military ships and other large vessels used fire elementals. Smaller, faster craft like this one used air elementals.

S'sylin's idea, as non-heroic as it is, is probably a sound one. Now that the elementals are free, they may try to extract revenge on the crew, or at least the captain, but they probably won't come after you unless you were to try to do something noble like say... save the captain's life?
Sep 21, 2022 7:35 pm
Verin starts to lift one of the professor's arms, draping it across her own shoulders. "Lash, we can't leave her here. Help me bring her with us!" Her voice is insistant, and slightly panicked. She glances back at the elementals emerging from the wreckage, and tries to stand with the professor.
Sep 21, 2022 8:04 pm
When the ship came to a stop Rythorn finally let his braced position down. His muscles ached from the effort but otherwise, he came out unscathed. Sensing the need to abandon ship, he quickly ran back to his room and gathered his things and then made his way out of one of the nearby openings just in time to see the elementals moving in and hear S'sylin's shouted plan.

Rythorn agreed that living to another day seemed like the best option. Eyes set firmly on the treeline, Rythorn began to run, stopping only to help anyone along his path that was still living but required assistance.
Sep 21, 2022 9:27 pm
Seeing Verin struggle with lifting Alacandra, and knowing my lack of muscles, I opt for magic. I flick my wrist to retrieve my wand from my sleeve, wave it in a horizontal circle three times and call out Tensor's Disk!
Another flick of the wrist and the wand is stowed.
I scoop up a handful of sand and toss it on the otherwise invisible disk.
Let's get her onto this.
I help Verin drape Alacandra's body across the disk.
Okay. Where to, Verin? I'll follow you.
Sep 21, 2022 9:33 pm
"This way," Verin tells him and at a dead sprint runs towards Rythorn to enter the forest as a group.
Sep 22, 2022 12:26 am
Samarath takes in what was happening: the elementals getting free and not looking too happy, some of the survivors starting to flee to the forest, and tries to remember how many survivors there should be.
OOC:
@Falconloft, I’ll do a perception check to see if there might be anyone trapped in the wreckage.

Also, approximately how many elementals are there? Are we talking like dozens of them?
OOC:
Edit: Oof a 1 haha
Last edited September 22, 2022 12:26 am

Rolls

Perception — anyone in the wreckage - (1d20+6)

(1) + 6 = 7

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