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[Storm March - Interlude] The Unusual Appearance of Baron Von Ruckhauser

NipsNips He/HimLuxuriating in existential crisis.Registered User regular
Hey all! But especially y'all from the Storm March PbP games!

@joshgotro
@Elvenshae
@Mahnmut
@ironsizide
@Cheeseliker

With @Endless_Serpents off saving the world (probably literally? Guess we'll find out later!), his two Storm March games have come to a temporary hiatus. I, however, am having too much fun playing these games and want to see the Fun Train keep chuggin' down the line.

GM'ing is like playing, right? ;D

So I'm soliciting you folk, and anyone else on the forum here, who might be interested in playing a pick-up Interlude game I'll run while Endless is away. Here's a teaser to whet your appetite:
The nation states of Osnier, Mysia, and Sabaan are by far the largest and most affluent of those existing on the "civilized" side of the Tempest Wall, but they're certainly not the only ones. Smaller single-island states dot the airscape of the world, each trying to get by and pursuing their own ends.

One of these island-states was, in antiquity, the Barony of Gelt. Led and owned by the Baron Christopher Beltrigar Von Ruckhauser, Gelt was a peculiarity among the smaller nation-states that orbit the Great Three: it managed to keep its autonomy through a series of strategic partnerships, and boasted a remarkable scientific acumen that in its time the Great Three would have difficulty matching.

At least, until the Barony and its entire sky-island vanished.

It was said that the Barony's scientific edge was a direct result of its Baron's genius, and Von Ruckhauser was said to have been leaps and bounds ahead in the thinking surrounding the Tempest Wall. It was also rumored he was a bit of a madman, intent on breaching the Tempest Wall well before the Great Three combined their resources for the current isleship expedition.

Now, on the far side of the Tempest Wall, farseers have reported an unknown isleship resembling the old barony in the distance, and the leadership wants it scouted and claimed for the good of their joint venture here in the wilds.

As a reminder, here's some of the principles behind the Storm March games:
Persistent World
The adventures you undertake are in your hands. There’s no pre-planned story. In its place is a living, breathing world that moves with and without you. You affect it, and it pushes back. A danger left to linger will grow, people will go about their schemes while you are away, changes you make will persist, and marks of your passing will be found by other adventuring parties.

Changing Alliances
There are no set parties in Storm March. Instead you team up with other adventurers interested in taking the same quest, or convinced to pursue your personal expedition. Adventurers can switch parties after every jaunt into the Storm March.

Pulp Serials
Every quest is self contained. You venture into the unknown, land on a new island, find or are found by adventure, and return home to the Steading by its natural end.

Every session (after forming a party at the Steading) begins just before landing at your destination, or in the thick of action after landing. There is no time to waste in the Storm March.

The Steading
Consisting of three very different locales, every session begins with a quick scene at the Steading. After a quest is completed the current party will carouse together, then part ways. The Steading is safe, and is a place for trade and discussion for those not currently in a party. The Steading will grow over time, as of the initial sessions it is still recovering from the journey through the Tempest Wall.

A quest or two may take place in the Steading if a few players suggest it, but to begin with these are tales of exploration, mystery and daring, rather than intrigue.

The Skies Beyond
Choose your own reason you don’t want to go back to where you came from, for otherwise it makes little sense for you to be here. Should you wish to retire a character, or you can no longer play, it’s assumed that adventurer has ‘gone back to the farm’ until further notice.

For existing player characters, I'd love if you'd continue to play the characters you've got, but if the bug strikes you I'm open to completely new characters.

Please post and let me know if you're interested! If we get a critical mass (say, two or three players), we'll kick this off proper early next week.

Thanks to Endless_Serpents for kicking off these stories in the first place, and giving me the prompt and opportunity to play another fun game on the internet with you folks!

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Posts

  • ElvenshaeElvenshae Registered User regular
    Sign-up!

  • NipsNips He/Him Luxuriating in existential crisis.Registered User regular
    Last call for anyone that's interested in playing! I'm planning on kicking this adventure off later today, but I'm happy to take on another player or two!

    JXUBxMxP0QndjQUEnTwTxOkfKmx8kWNvuc-FUtbSz_23_DAhGKe7W9spFKLXAtkpTBqM8Dt6kQrv-rS69Hi3FheL3fays2xTeVUvWR7g5UyLHnFA0frGk1BC12GYdOSRn9lbaJB-uH0htiLPJMrc9cSRsIgk5Dx7jg9K8rJVfG43lkeAWxTgcolNscW9KO2UZjKT8GMbYAFgFvu2TaMoLH8LBA5p2pm6VNYRsQK3QGjCsze1TOv2yIbCazmDwCHmjiQxNDf6LHP35msyiXo3CxuWs9Y8DQvJjvj10kWaspRNlWHKjS5w9Y0KLuIkhQKOxgaDziG290v4zBmTi-i7OfDz-foqIqKzC9wTbn9i_uU87GRitmrNAJdzRRsaTW5VQu_XX_5gCN8XCoNyu5RWWVGTsjJuyezz1_NpFa903Uj2TnFqnL1wJ-RZiFAAd2Bdut-G1pdQtdQihsq2dx_BjtmtGC3KZRyylO1t2c12dhfb0rStq4v8pg46ciOcdtT_1qm85IgUmGd7AmgLxCFPb0xnxWZvr26G-oXSqrQdjKA1zNIInSowiHcbUO2O8S5LRJVR6vQiEg0fbGXw4vqJYEn917tnzHMh8r0xom8BLKMvoFDelk6wbEeNq8w8Eyu2ouGjEMIvvJcb2az2AKQ1uE_7gdatfKG2QdvfdSBRSc35MQ=w498-h80-no
  • NipsNips He/Him Luxuriating in existential crisis.Registered User regular
    Time to launch this rocket!



    It is a cool, lazy evening on the far side of the Tempest Wall, several days removed from your last adventures out into the open skies. The late meal, however you take it, is as fantastic as ever. As you are whittling away the time with hobby or a prayer though, a courier arrives with a terse letter intended for you.

    "Meet me on the Maykupuni at Doruthan's quarters in an hour. -T"

    Intrigued by the mysterious note, or curious why someone would summon you on the off hours, you make your way to your mountainous companion's abode. The door is cracked slightly, and a dim candlelight issues into the dusk outside.

    "Get in here, we don't have a lot of time."

    The face of the Senior Augur Toth Menassus greets you sternly from behind the door.

    5a7fcde389f6da4e9b907b5d21af2570.jpg

    "I'll be blunt and brief: As you have undoubtedly heard, the Barony of Gelt was spotted by farseers this morning a substantial distance due east of Lucky Island. Here's the problem, though; it wasn't there yesterday. The leadership council is debating how to handle this, but I can guarantee you if the Barony is here now it will only cause problems the longer the debate goes on. Most of the advance scouts are already tied up following leads to the north, and we need to act immediately to ensure the the lost island doesn't interfere with our mission here. I've begun several simple scrying spells, but most of what I've already tried has failed."

    Her face contorts for a moment.

    "My spells do not fail. Not without outside interference. So we'll need to get eyes on the island ourselves. If I've not scared you off at this point, go back to your quarters and get a night's rest. Meet me with your mounts in the sky above Maykupuni just before dawn."


    You have a short amount of time to ask Toth questions before she ushers you out.

    JXUBxMxP0QndjQUEnTwTxOkfKmx8kWNvuc-FUtbSz_23_DAhGKe7W9spFKLXAtkpTBqM8Dt6kQrv-rS69Hi3FheL3fays2xTeVUvWR7g5UyLHnFA0frGk1BC12GYdOSRn9lbaJB-uH0htiLPJMrc9cSRsIgk5Dx7jg9K8rJVfG43lkeAWxTgcolNscW9KO2UZjKT8GMbYAFgFvu2TaMoLH8LBA5p2pm6VNYRsQK3QGjCsze1TOv2yIbCazmDwCHmjiQxNDf6LHP35msyiXo3CxuWs9Y8DQvJjvj10kWaspRNlWHKjS5w9Y0KLuIkhQKOxgaDziG290v4zBmTi-i7OfDz-foqIqKzC9wTbn9i_uU87GRitmrNAJdzRRsaTW5VQu_XX_5gCN8XCoNyu5RWWVGTsjJuyezz1_NpFa903Uj2TnFqnL1wJ-RZiFAAd2Bdut-G1pdQtdQihsq2dx_BjtmtGC3KZRyylO1t2c12dhfb0rStq4v8pg46ciOcdtT_1qm85IgUmGd7AmgLxCFPb0xnxWZvr26G-oXSqrQdjKA1zNIInSowiHcbUO2O8S5LRJVR6vQiEg0fbGXw4vqJYEn917tnzHMh8r0xom8BLKMvoFDelk6wbEeNq8w8Eyu2ouGjEMIvvJcb2az2AKQ1uE_7gdatfKG2QdvfdSBRSc35MQ=w498-h80-no
  • ElvenshaeElvenshae Registered User regular
    edited August 2019
    [OOC: Man, work sucks this week.]

    "Do not worry; you have not scared me off of helping you with this. It would take much to stop me from helping a friend of Doruthan!" Exilis thinks for a moment. "I have heard some rumors about this disappearing Barony - their arcane might, their control of the wind, that they made gold and steel appear from thin air - but little that is not shrouded in myth and supposition, and those fly far and fast away from truth. What is the truth that you know, that is not the embellished tales of children around the nightfires?"

    Elvenshae on
  • NipsNips He/Him Luxuriating in existential crisis.Registered User regular
    edited August 2019
    Toth chuckles, a faint smile cracking her cool demeanor. "Arcane might, yes. Control of the wind? Simple by relative measures. Gold and steel from thin air...now there's where the legends diverge from the truth. At least in part." Her smile drops, her businesslike facade back in place.

    "The Barony of Gelt was known for two things, if nothing else: the Baron himself and the barony's astonishing wealth for a sovereignty its size. The latter, of course, a direct result of the former. The Baron was not only an accomplished arcanist and practitioner of the thaumaturgical arts, he was also an unparalleled alchemist. The transmutation of lesser elements into valuable ones, for anyone outside of Gelt, is near to impossible. But for Von Ruckhauser that sort of feat was as simple as a morning's constitutional. And his skills did not end there as the Fullbright Consortium routinely consulted with him on a variety of alchemically-driven arcane and mechanical apparatuses over the years. At least until Gelt disappeared, and his brilliance along with it."

    Toth sighs and circumscribes a pattern of light in the air, which moments later fizzles and pops in a small but dazzling display of sparks.

    "Brilliant, but infuriating."

    Nips on
    JXUBxMxP0QndjQUEnTwTxOkfKmx8kWNvuc-FUtbSz_23_DAhGKe7W9spFKLXAtkpTBqM8Dt6kQrv-rS69Hi3FheL3fays2xTeVUvWR7g5UyLHnFA0frGk1BC12GYdOSRn9lbaJB-uH0htiLPJMrc9cSRsIgk5Dx7jg9K8rJVfG43lkeAWxTgcolNscW9KO2UZjKT8GMbYAFgFvu2TaMoLH8LBA5p2pm6VNYRsQK3QGjCsze1TOv2yIbCazmDwCHmjiQxNDf6LHP35msyiXo3CxuWs9Y8DQvJjvj10kWaspRNlWHKjS5w9Y0KLuIkhQKOxgaDziG290v4zBmTi-i7OfDz-foqIqKzC9wTbn9i_uU87GRitmrNAJdzRRsaTW5VQu_XX_5gCN8XCoNyu5RWWVGTsjJuyezz1_NpFa903Uj2TnFqnL1wJ-RZiFAAd2Bdut-G1pdQtdQihsq2dx_BjtmtGC3KZRyylO1t2c12dhfb0rStq4v8pg46ciOcdtT_1qm85IgUmGd7AmgLxCFPb0xnxWZvr26G-oXSqrQdjKA1zNIInSowiHcbUO2O8S5LRJVR6vQiEg0fbGXw4vqJYEn917tnzHMh8r0xom8BLKMvoFDelk6wbEeNq8w8Eyu2ouGjEMIvvJcb2az2AKQ1uE_7gdatfKG2QdvfdSBRSc35MQ=w498-h80-no
  • ElvenshaeElvenshae Registered User regular
    "Thank you, Toth - your clarity is welcome. Is it too much to hope that Gelt focused his efforts on ... say, weaving machines and planting apparatuses? Or, as I suspect, was he making machines for war?"

  • NipsNips He/Him Luxuriating in existential crisis.Registered User regular
    Toth's brow furrows a bit as another of her minor incantations fails, guttering sparks into the air once more.

    "The Baron was contracted and consulted on many devices during his tenure, but the Consortium was principally interested in arcanomechanics bent toward commerce and travel: airships of all sizes, wind-screamers, tug-barges for transporting goods, etcetera. It was rumored that Von Ruckhauser himself manufactured an army of automatic soldiers, but no one outside of Gelt ever saw evidence of this. The exception that seemed to prove the truth, though, was the Baron's honor-guard of automatic knights that would frequently accompany him on diplomatic visits to the other nations.

    A third, and seemingly final, arc of glowing lines and concentric circles bursts into glittering dust just above a nearby desk, and the Senior Augur rubs her brow with one hand.

    "My divinations can no longer penetrate the distance and interference toward the barony from this location. For now, let us rest and regroup before the rooster's song, then we'll make haste to the isle for further study."

    You are ushered out the door with little pomp.



    Early the next morn, with the sun barely peeking its rays over the horizon, you find in the air the diviner herself. She stands still in the air astride the back of a comparatively massive clockwork dragonfly, its wings beating at a frequency your eyes can barely discern.

    fd6d26c19ed7c216f99c370beb81fa18_resize.jpg

    At her side, another adventurer of the isleships has already joined her in the air. (The Senior Augur is pointed about embarking on the journey immediately, but feel free to engage in pleasantries as you go!)

    @Elvenshae @Mahnmut @ironsizide

    You will be undertaking a perilous journey! In the handful of hours since the meeting last night, the sky between the isleships and the barony has become filled with a mysterious, treacherous fog. Though you know the direction and rough distance to the barony itself, you will have to plow through this bank of mist to arrive at your destination. Attempts at an approach from alternate routes are met with similar cloud banks.

    0099_FantasyClouds2_Prv_00000.jpg
    Undertake a Perilous Journey
    When you travel through hostile territory, choose one member of the party to act as trailblazer, one to scout ahead, and one to be quartermaster. Each character with a job to do rolls+WIS. • On a 10+:
    • the quartermaster reduces the number of rations required by one
    • the trailblazer reduces the amount of time it takes to reach your destination (the GM will say by how much)
    • the scout will spot any trouble quick enough to let you get the drop on it
    On a 7–9, each role performs their job as expected: the normal number of rations are consumed, the journey takes about as long as expected, no one gets the drop on you but you don’t get the drop on them either.

    As a bonus for having the isleships' most preeminent diviner in your group, once you have each taken a role, take +1 Forward to your move roll to represent Toth's auguries assisting you in your task.

    [Welcome @ironsizide to the group! He's chosen to play with us! Yay!]

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  • ironsizideironsizide You must whip it Registered User regular
    "I'm former air cav with the Osnier forces." Otto points to the back of his weather riding leathers back with his thumb. Painted there is the heraldry of his old unit. The painted image depicts a stylized diving screamwing over a red circle on a yellow background. Above the bat is an arcing scroll with "Hunters From The Sky" in calligraphic letters written on it. "I'm probably best suited to find the best route through this pea soup to iffin no one pays mind."

    [OOC, I'll pick the Trailblazing if no one objects]

    Geth roll 2d6+2 for Perilous Journeyin'

    Perilous Journeyin':
    2d6+2 8 [2d6=4, 2]

    |_
    Oo\ Ironsizide
    camo_sig2.png
  • MahnmutMahnmut Registered User regular
    Hawthorne frowns at the fog while exchanging a complex "handshake" with Jenna, his grey-lavender rock krake. "Well, friends, I'll take lookout this trip. Let's hope Sister Moon can see into that mess ahead of us."

    Geth, roll 2d6+2 for Scouting

    Scouting:
    2d6+2 13 [2d6=5, 6]

    Steam/LoL: Jericho89
  • ElvenshaeElvenshae Registered User regular
    edited August 2019
    Exilis moves in to grip arms with Otto. His unit's insignia is not immediately familiar to the Aquilaean, but that's not unusual: the Osnier Republic is huge, comparatively speaking, and forces from one end might never encounter those from the other. And Exilis was always more of an auxiliary, anyway. "Exilis; the larger eagle is Iugo; the smaller, Peregrinus. He has been known to claim trinkets from new friends, and it is challenging to get him to give them back."

    He turns to Hawthorne, and smiles broadly. "It is good to see you again, friend. How has the time passed for you?"

    Exilis is happy to help arrange the supplies for their long trek. As a former scout for the Osnier Republic's armies, he has had many opportunities to make long trips far away from "civilization" and is quite proficient at it. (Aquilaean Ranger: When you undertake a perilous journey through wilderness whatever job you take you succeed as if you rolled a 10+.)

    Elvenshae on
  • NipsNips He/Him Luxuriating in existential crisis.Registered User regular
    edited August 2019
    Your quartet of fliers breaks into the yellow-green clouds, passing wispy gouts of fog at first before the density of the morass reaches near-marshmallow patches in places.

    Through Otto's steady lead, the group avoids the worst and densest of the cloud bank, keeping your pace up. Even so, it still takes the better part of the morning before you've broken through to within landing distance at the barony isle.
    Otto, what memory does travelling through this cloud bank conjure for you?

    Hawthorne says a short prayer as you enter the bank, and it seems that Sister Moon is watching over you all! Buried within the dense chunks of cloud you notice any number of cart-sized boulders. Keeping your distance, you notice vague multi-limbed shapes skittering across the boulders. Caution being the better part of valor, you wave the group away from each hidden boulder as you spot them.
    The fog hides threats, Hawthorne. Tell me what you know of Sky Filchers.

    Exilis's experienced preparations allow your cadre the luxury of high-energy snacks, while also providing for each of your mounts. No one need dip into their rations due to Exilis's smart provisioning.
    It is rare that an army on the march, or flight, can go a half-day without some rations. Where did you learn this trick, and what is the nature of your provisions?

    By midday, you've arrived at the outskirts of the lost isle of the Barony of Gelt!



    The isle itself looms just a minute away in the distance, the green fog clouds having broken to reveal the mass of land itself hovering just barely over another thicker band of clouds. Were it not for your route through the bilious surrounds, you might not know of a path away from this place.

    0*3yYWX4V2v2tvGA5p

    The air here is still, serene. The land in the distance has a vague kind of haziness to it, something your senses can't quite settle on. What is apparent, however, are several potential landing sites.

    A massive watchtower looms to the left hand side of the isle. The stonework is immaculate, evident even from this distance.

    Atop the mountain peaks, you spot a small aerie landing. Possibly where the barony lands its own fliers?

    As you begin to circumnavigate the isle, you see the backside of the mountains opens to an impossibly massive series of farmland steppes carved into the stone slope.

    Toth, one hand gripping her flyer's reins, is furiously conjuring a seeing spell with her off hand; she offers you no guidance if asked, and trusts you all to determine a proper landing site.

    Where do you land?

    Nips on
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  • ElvenshaeElvenshae Registered User regular
    edited August 2019
    It is rare that an army on the march, or flight, can go a half-day without some rations. Where did you learn this trick, and what is the nature of your provisions?

    Look, any soldier not on their first ranging knows that when you can, you cheat. Before setting out, Exilis paid a visit to his ... friends? acquaintances? ... Fritz and Fritz (no relation), who are definitely two of the top alchemists in the Storm March, if only because there isn't much competition for the honors yet. (Exilis, though, believes they actually have at least half the chops they claim to have.) Anyway, they've got this super-energizing slime food that they've been working on, designed to keep you going when food supplies are scarce. It tastes pretty much exactly like it looks like it would, and you can't live on it forever, but when you're working with a tight timeline and cannot afford to stop for lunch breaks, it'll do.

    Just, uh .. Make sure to drink some water. A little more. There you go.

    While circling the island, Exilis makes careful note of the aerie landing. That, he believes, is the natural first place to land. The farmland steppes would be fine if they were trying to infiltrate the area, and the watchtower if they were attempting to be rude, but from what he knows the inhabitants of the island are unlikely to be immediately hostile. Arriving following something like the normal procedures might allow them a chance to talk first.

    Elvenshae on
  • ironsizideironsizide You must whip it Registered User regular
    Otto, what memory does travelling through this cloud bank conjure for you?

    Navigating the cloud bank jogs a memory from Otto's time in the Osnier air cavalry. A hunk of floating rock on the border of the republic and the Sabaan League. Always shrouded in thick cloud cover, The Isle Imdunkel was useless save for one thing: strategic location on the border. Fear of either side placing a hidden fort on it drove the occasional recon mission to make sure no foothold was being established. His screamwing squadron was perfect for those missions, the giant bats' echo location ability helping to navigate the cloud cover.

    Otto recalls a one mission in particular: a midnight raid. He had to rely on Harley even more than usual to navigate. They were on the look out for a reported camp set up by one of the neighboring League chiefs lookin to make a name for himself by claiming the isle for himself and the League.

    Otto had to constantly reign in Harley to keep her from going too fast in the treacherous conditions. She was always happiest when they returned to base first; winning a race only she cared about. But flying to beat the wind itself at night in cloud cover was a sure way to smack into the side of a mountain. They had to fly low too to make it easier to spot the campfires.

    They were cresting a ridge when Otto caught movement not on the ground but on his two, above him. Something flew across one of the moons, disrupting its reflected light. "Looks like we got company, girl." He guided his steed into a climbing banking turn that would put him on the enemy's six. Harley screeched into the clouds attempting to find the hidden flyer. Otto drew his pistol.

    Harley pulled to the left and started a shallow dive. She had located her prey. A shape materialized in the clouds and quickly closed the distance. Shit. They're coming straight at us. He barely had time to take a shot as they passed each other. The shot went wild as Harley jinked wildly. A net with a trailing rope narrow missed them as the enemy giant cloud (manta) ray streaked by. On it's back was a Sabaan League sky warrior, impossibly standing on the ray's back! Otto pulled a half loop and rolled upright to begin pursuit of the enemy. The warrior was frantically reeling in the net with the attached rope. Sucker must've smelled me downwind! Otto took advantage of the situation to reload his pistol.

    The warrior retrieved his net before Otto finished reloading, diving deeper into the clouds and vanished. Otto swore as Harley dove after them. Otto let her find her way cause he sure wasn't going to. She spiraled downward in pursuit. He saw nothing until they broke through the clouds, dangerously close to the ground. The warrior frantically maneuvered to try and shake off Otto, finally giving up and started to climb back into the clouds. The cloud ray had bled too much energy trying to turn the tables so instead of a zoom climb had to work to gain height. Otto took another shot before he lost sight again. The ray made the perfect target; it's top was facing Otto and slowing down. This shot was true, hitting the ray in the base of it's left wing.

    The ray screamed in pain and the warrior lost any control of the creature he had. They fell into a tailspin and augured into the ground. Otto and Harley followed them down. Capturing the warrior would look good for Otto's service record, not to mention the chance to hone his dueling rapier skills. As they neared the ground however Otto realized the landing for his foe was going to be anything but graceful. His shot must've hit bone because the ray's left wing was useless. There was no way it was was going to pull out of the dive it was in. Rider and steed smacked into the ground with a sickening thud causing Otto to wince sympathetically.

    Otto took a moment to regain his bearings so he could rejoin the raid. He'd be a little late to the party, but he already had a kill mark up on his fellow riders in the squadron. He had gained a newfound appreciation for wind direction and his scent.

    |_
    Oo\ Ironsizide
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  • CheeselikerCheeseliker Registered User regular
    edited August 2019
    [OOC: I'm interested! Wei will be coming! Edit: I may jump in if there's an easier point in the future.]

    Cheeseliker on
  • NipsNips He/Him Luxuriating in existential crisis.Registered User regular
    [@Cheeseliker I can fit you in! Once the party's landed, I know where Wei can show up.

    *insert evil GM laugh*]

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  • ironsizideironsizide You must whip it Registered User regular
    Otto agrees with Exilus, and follows him in to the landing site.

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    Oo\ Ironsizide
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  • NipsNips He/Him Luxuriating in existential crisis.Registered User regular
    edited September 2019
    You catch a chill breeze as your menagerie begins to descend toward the Aerie, a fortified keep nestled into the towering crags of the surrounding mountain. Atop the imposing towers of the citadel, a number of clearly marked spaces have been set aside for aerial landings...such as your own! You each navigate the steep walls of the surrounding mountain with ease, and take alight on the top of the Aerie.

    e6d692fac118dd61071620f880ac40b2.jpg

    Peering over the battlements, you see that a long stone staircase descends from the front of the keep into a narrow gap between two crags, lost in a bit of fog. Unfortunately, the route down from the roof doesn't seem immediately evident; there is a smallish door in the wall of a nearby tower, and a pair of massive steel-reinforced wood doors built into the roof of the Aerie, both currently shut.

    Otto, Exilis, and Hawthorne: What do you do?



    Meanwhile, back at the Isleships...

    "Listen, Wei, Bargus, I know the elders mean well. Really! But I don't need constant overwatch while I work on this equipment." A muscular orc mechanic rolls herself out from beneath an inscrutably complicated arrangement of copper pipes, brass fittings, steel inertial compartments, and other engine parts you're not immediately familiar with.
    8576feb46ad899c0dfbc2cd18a58c5ab.jpg

    "Fritz, I go where the elders tell me to, do what needs to be done. Today, that's watching you. I don't ask questions, especially when it comes to when someone's working on the gubbins of the isleships." The stout dwarven guard, Bargus, takes a deep drag off a flask, then offers it to you.
    6569db62fd746360fc3bdb1151f75051.jpg

    "Frankly though, I'm not sure what any good me an' a body of the land like Wei are to yer work here. It's not like either of us are classically trained mechanics, or whatnot." Bargus shoots you a glance.

    Fritz sits on her ankle-high dolly and rolls it over to an inconspicuous series of metal chambers. "You heard, right? About the Barony? Well, as I grok it, some of the stuff the old Baron put together eventually ended up in these engines the isleships are powered by. In part, at least. Look, it's complicated enough understanding it, explaining it is right out. I mean, look at this business!" She spreads her arms wide, in the direction of the mass of metal parts. "How does any of this make any sense, let alone do anything useful? It's madness. And yet, it does something, and that something is enough to help make the whole thing go. And now I'm here, because the elders said 'Make sure nothing's out of place.' Out of place? How would someone even know!" Fritz grunts, a high-pitched utterance of frustration. She then returns to her work, studious.

    Bargus sighs, and takes another drag off his flask.

    Wei: You notice from your vantage point in the room, as yet unnoticed and just barely out of sight beneath the mechanical works, a faint blue liquid slowly dripping to the stonework floor below. Where it has worked into the cracks of the stones, a small tuft of unusual grass seems to be growing. What do you do?

    (Sorry for the delay, guys! Life stuff. Time to kick this engine back into gear!)

    Nips on
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  • CheeselikerCheeseliker Registered User regular
    edited September 2019
    "It is my belief, that these 'isleships' are more than just...machinery at work..." Wei says to his companions before catching eye sight of the leak. "Wait, there's something here." Wei crouches down and studies the liquid and grass.

    What happened here recently?

    geth roll 2d6+2 discern realities.

    discern realities.:
    2d6+2 9 [2d6=1, 6]

    Cheeseliker on
  • NipsNips He/Him Luxuriating in existential crisis.Registered User regular
    What happened here recently?

    You're no arcano-engineer, but just a few moments of observation make it very clear: something's slightly broken. More precisely, three interconnected spherical chambers each the size of a grapefruit hang roughly above the dripping blue fluid, and the central chamber has a hairline crack in its bottom. It doesn't take much of a leap of logic to intuit that sometime during the trip through the Tempest Wall the stresses on this equipment formed that crack.

    As you observe closer, a drop of that blue fluid falls from the crack into the tuft of...grass? No, that's not grass exactly, and as you peer closer you see that the 'tuft' is much more crystalline in nature than any natural grass. When the drop of glowing fluid falls into the fine crystalline structure, it glows a bit and suddenly sprouts up an inch.

    4-crystals-of-beta-endorphin-alfred-pasiekascience-photo-library.jpg

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  • CheeselikerCheeseliker Registered User regular
    Wei touches the crystal gently, seeing if he could possibly pick off a small piece to pocket, then addresses the others.

    "Hey, Fritz, look at this. You any idea what this is?" He points out the crack, the dripping liquid and the crystals.

  • NipsNips He/Him Luxuriating in existential crisis.Registered User regular
    The moment your finger touches the growing sprout of crystal, your hand is lit up with a jolt! Take 1 damage!

    For a moment, just a moment, the world glows incandescent blue all around you. Your very existence is shunted into a strange realm of unknown energy, and wisps of hard white light fly up, past, and around you.

    SD-Blog-astral-px.jpg

    You think you hear whispers, and as it continues you realize it's the words coming from your own mouth, hearing it almost like an echo in the distance. "Heeeeeeey Fffffrrrriiiiiitttttzzzzz, lllloooooooookkkk aatt this..."

    Just as suddenly you snap back into place, kneeling near the inscrutable machinery, the words only having just left your lips. You blink, and now the crystal tuft has grown near to touching the leaking vessel above it.

    Fritz kneels down next to you, eyeing the cracked chamber, the blue fluid, and the rapidly-growing tuft of crystal.

    "Uhhhhh....huh. I don't know what that is. I think? I know this machine acts as a power supply to another machine that helps drive the isleship. Maybe that's fuel?" The young woman scratches her head, her eyes rolling around as if she's trying to recall something.

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  • ironsizideironsizide You must whip it Registered User regular
    Harley flares her wings and grabs the the roof's battlements in her claws to land. Otto pats her head and thanks her for adeptly getting him to the Aerie. He hops down from his saddle, shakes out his legs and stretches his arms. He finished his stretch by taking his flight goggles off his eyes and hangs them around his neck. He surveys the area while waiting for the his two fellow travelers to land and dismount. "Seems kind of strange that there's no one up here to greet us. I suppose there's no harm in being polite and knocking on the door to tower."

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    Oo\ Ironsizide
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  • NipsNips He/Him Luxuriating in existential crisis.Registered User regular
    Otto, your knock on the wooden door results in an odd echo, perceptible on the opposite side of the door. In fact you begin to notice that sound here is just a little bit off, as if the silence is too quiet and the sounds you make carry too long.

    Aside from the echo, you get no response from your knock.

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  • ironsizideironsizide You must whip it Registered User regular
    Otto very carefully tests whatever opening mechanism there is on the door to see if it the is locked or otherwise secured.

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    Oo\ Ironsizide
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  • NipsNips He/Him Luxuriating in existential crisis.Registered User regular
    A simple lever handle presents itself on the exterior of the door, and a cautious test of the mechanism convinces you that it is not locked or barred.

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  • MahnmutMahnmut Registered User regular
    Nips wrote: »
    The fog hides threats, Hawthorne. Tell me what you know of Sky Filchers.

    The story goes that the beautiful and the good drove the Filchers into the outer banks because they were too hideous to look upon; they named them Filchers because that made it easier to do the driving out, etc.

    Hawthorne scratches the back of his head, looking from the unlocked door to the deserted rooftop with some skepticism. "I suppose there's no harm in being polite and taking our salutations to our hosts directly, either, really...."

    Steam/LoL: Jericho89
  • CheeselikerCheeseliker Registered User regular
    Wei struggles to stand, shaken. He coughs. "Do you have anything to fix that crack? We must contain that crystal. It is...unnatural. Is there anyone who would know more about this?:

  • NipsNips He/Him Luxuriating in existential crisis.Registered User regular
    "Well, there's other engineers with the expedition, and a few of them have been around a little longer than I have." Fritz rubs her chin, thinking hard for a moment.

    "I'm not sure if any of the on-isles engineering corps were part of the initial design and construction of this thing, though. Maybe Kethrasss? The scaly bastard might know more about this than any of the engineers; he tends to hoard the equipment manuals. Bargus, can you run up topside and find him? I'll try and figure out a way to patch this up from here, or at least not let it get any worse."

    Bargus grunts, standing up to his full height. "Sure, lass. Back in a deepcrow's flap." The dwarf hustles out of the room.

    Fritz turns her attention back on the machinery. Stooping low she closely examines the leakage, and as she watches yet another drop of fluid falls into the crystal mass, causing it to grow rapidly.

    Another drop of leaking fluid forms on the underside of the broken vessel.

    Fritz digs into her pocket, pulling out a machinist's shop rag, and moves to wipe away the growing bulge of fluid....

    (What do you do?)



    Otto, with Hawthorne behind you and Exilis some distance away, you open the door. You are met with a dimly-lit stone stairwell that disappears down into pitch darkness.

    (Going in blind, or does one of you produce a light source?)

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  • ironsizideironsizide You must whip it Registered User regular
    If a torch can be considered part of Adventuring Gear, then Otto can produce one. Otherwise Otto with ask the other if they have a light source. Barring that, perhaps opening the doors in the floor might reveal something useful?

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  • NipsNips He/Him Luxuriating in existential crisis.Registered User regular
    edited September 2019
    A torch would absolutely be part (and one unit) of an adventurer's gear kit!

    Nips on
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  • ironsizideironsizide You must whip it Registered User regular
    Otto walks over to Harley and retrieves a backpack full of gear. He sets it on the ground, pulls a torch from some strap on the side and some flint and tinder from a pocket to light it. He lights the torch, asks Hawthorne to hold the lit torch while he packs away the flint and tinder and dons the backpack. "Here, I'll take that back. Shall we?" Otto makes his way down the stairs as the vanguard unless any one objects.

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  • CheeselikerCheeseliker Registered User regular
    Wei grabs Fritz's arm. "Allow me," he says, taking the rag, but instead of wiping the drop away, he holds the rag underneath the droplet, so that it is above the crystal below. When it drops, it will drop into the rag and not onto the ever-increasing crystal.

  • NipsNips He/Him Luxuriating in existential crisis.Registered User regular
    edited September 2019
    Otto, Hawthorne, and Exilis

    Your point man's torch lights the stone stairwell adequately, illuminating a well-carved and seemingly well-maintained structure. Blocks of dull grey stone are carved to near-perfection, fit together into the nearly seamless walls and the risers underneath your feet. Were it not for a thin layer of dust, you'd have no evidence that this path has gone unused for some time. As you make the descent your quiet footfalls echo off the surroundings, but something doesn't sound quite right; it's as if the echoes last too long or their timbre changes slightly from what you expect.

    Several minutes later you arrive at a lower level landing, and are met with the sight of the Aerie's main...hangar? A wide open floor dominating the middle of the space is flanked on every side with handfuls of open cubicles. Most are empty, but a small handful contain what looks like some sort of single-man flying device.

    ornithopter_by_shadowhyperreal_d6wfzx5-fullview.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7ImhlaWdodCI6Ijw9NjM5IiwicGF0aCI6IlwvZlwvMTMxN2JjZDctYTA1ZC00NDIzLTliOGEtZTRmMDI0ODMxMWJkXC9kNndmeng1LWM4OGIwN2NkLWYwOTQtNDQwZC05NDU2LWMyZTFmNTU0NDUzYy5qcGciLCJ3aWR0aCI6Ijw9MTAyNCJ9XV0sImF1ZCI6WyJ1cm46c2VydmljZTppbWFnZS5vcGVyYXRpb25zIl19.7l58PJo2KhV3RFpPugmBHE66qUGD_6SUE26fRbjkpk0

    Directly above the open floor the large doors in the roof are visible. It appears the floor beneath them might also somehow separate from the surface around it as seams show the shape of a large square in the stone floor. Several doors are dimly seen in the distance, scattered about on the other walls of the room.

    What do you do?



    Wei

    You gallantly take the rag from Fritz, only to turn and see another drop rapidly coalescing!

    Make a roll to Defy Danger (Dexterity) to catch it as it falls!

    Nips on
    JXUBxMxP0QndjQUEnTwTxOkfKmx8kWNvuc-FUtbSz_23_DAhGKe7W9spFKLXAtkpTBqM8Dt6kQrv-rS69Hi3FheL3fays2xTeVUvWR7g5UyLHnFA0frGk1BC12GYdOSRn9lbaJB-uH0htiLPJMrc9cSRsIgk5Dx7jg9K8rJVfG43lkeAWxTgcolNscW9KO2UZjKT8GMbYAFgFvu2TaMoLH8LBA5p2pm6VNYRsQK3QGjCsze1TOv2yIbCazmDwCHmjiQxNDf6LHP35msyiXo3CxuWs9Y8DQvJjvj10kWaspRNlWHKjS5w9Y0KLuIkhQKOxgaDziG290v4zBmTi-i7OfDz-foqIqKzC9wTbn9i_uU87GRitmrNAJdzRRsaTW5VQu_XX_5gCN8XCoNyu5RWWVGTsjJuyezz1_NpFa903Uj2TnFqnL1wJ-RZiFAAd2Bdut-G1pdQtdQihsq2dx_BjtmtGC3KZRyylO1t2c12dhfb0rStq4v8pg46ciOcdtT_1qm85IgUmGd7AmgLxCFPb0xnxWZvr26G-oXSqrQdjKA1zNIInSowiHcbUO2O8S5LRJVR6vQiEg0fbGXw4vqJYEn917tnzHMh8r0xom8BLKMvoFDelk6wbEeNq8w8Eyu2ouGjEMIvvJcb2az2AKQ1uE_7gdatfKG2QdvfdSBRSc35MQ=w498-h80-no
  • CheeselikerCheeseliker Registered User regular
    geth roll 2d6+0 catch the drop!

    catch the drop!:
    2d6+0 5 [2d6=3, 2]

  • ironsizideironsizide You must whip it Registered User regular
    [OOC: what do I do!? Take that sucker home with me!]

    Otto whistles appreciatively. "I've not seen anything like those before." Before taking a closer look to see what might make those flying contraptions tick he looks around for sconces to light. "Anyone else notice the odd acoustics?"

    |_
    Oo\ Ironsizide
    camo_sig2.png
  • NipsNips He/Him Luxuriating in existential crisis.Registered User regular
    Wei

    You move to catch the now-falling droplet, but are a moment behind! Worse still your hands, now briefly outstretched, are caught by the crystal as it explosively grows upward and into the fluid-filled reservoir! Your entire being feels like it is caught in an electrical storm, and your sense of there-ness is ripped from you, leaving you to be washed away on a current of blue and white light.

    SD-Blog-astral-px.jpg



    Aerie Party

    As you begin to poke about the room, you suddenly hear a faint hum, a barely-perceptible vibration under your feet. Before you can blink, narrow florescent blue lines of energy arc in square and rectangular patterns across the floor, walls, and ceiling, and a number of lights in the room turn on. You can clearly see everything in the room, which includes a number of humanoid-looking metal bodies in some of the alcoves. Made from a combination of materials and delicately etched with filigree on their armor plates, the humanoids begin to move about the room carrying out various chores.

    That is, until one of them gets within several paces of you. The humanoid figure stops, suddenly causing all of them to stop and turn in your direction, drawing weapons!

    Defend yourselves!

    86fec6167f521e54d869e647d147c80b.jpg



    Wei

    An unfelt eternity passes in the blue-white void. You think you hear voices again, this time uncomfortably near, whispering pleas to your brief passing. Then you are pulled in a direction, space suddenly gaining meaning once more, and pushed as if through a funnel. The white wisps speed past you, and you are poured into an infinitesimal point of convergent darkness.

    Then, just as suddenly, *pop*.

    You're standing in front of a machine, but not the one you were helping Fritz maintenance. This collection of pipes and chambers glows a faint blue at the seams, but is otherwise performing whatever arcane process it is designed for. A small cloud of blueish steam slowly dissipates around you. The room around you is dimly lit by the device, and you see a stairwell nearby leading up and out of the room.

    The full extent of your physicality catches up with you, but if feels like your insides are still trying to remember how they work. You grip your spear, but if feels like it's vibrating in your hand. Or is it your hand that's vibrating? It's hard to tell.

    You hear clanging as well, as if weapons on steel plate? Is it your eardrums ringing? No, that's definitely not a ringing in your ears.

    Take -1 ongoing until you take a short rest to get yourself straightened out.

    JXUBxMxP0QndjQUEnTwTxOkfKmx8kWNvuc-FUtbSz_23_DAhGKe7W9spFKLXAtkpTBqM8Dt6kQrv-rS69Hi3FheL3fays2xTeVUvWR7g5UyLHnFA0frGk1BC12GYdOSRn9lbaJB-uH0htiLPJMrc9cSRsIgk5Dx7jg9K8rJVfG43lkeAWxTgcolNscW9KO2UZjKT8GMbYAFgFvu2TaMoLH8LBA5p2pm6VNYRsQK3QGjCsze1TOv2yIbCazmDwCHmjiQxNDf6LHP35msyiXo3CxuWs9Y8DQvJjvj10kWaspRNlWHKjS5w9Y0KLuIkhQKOxgaDziG290v4zBmTi-i7OfDz-foqIqKzC9wTbn9i_uU87GRitmrNAJdzRRsaTW5VQu_XX_5gCN8XCoNyu5RWWVGTsjJuyezz1_NpFa903Uj2TnFqnL1wJ-RZiFAAd2Bdut-G1pdQtdQihsq2dx_BjtmtGC3KZRyylO1t2c12dhfb0rStq4v8pg46ciOcdtT_1qm85IgUmGd7AmgLxCFPb0xnxWZvr26G-oXSqrQdjKA1zNIInSowiHcbUO2O8S5LRJVR6vQiEg0fbGXw4vqJYEn917tnzHMh8r0xom8BLKMvoFDelk6wbEeNq8w8Eyu2ouGjEMIvvJcb2az2AKQ1uE_7gdatfKG2QdvfdSBRSc35MQ=w498-h80-no
  • ironsizideironsizide You must whip it Registered User regular
    "We have company gents!" Otto draws his rune-encrusted flintlock and fires at the closest mechanical menace! Magical lighting dances from the pistol up his arm and along the shot's path.

    Geth, roll 2d6+2 for Flawless Bladework

    [OOC Endless Serpent ruled I could use the flintlock like a arcane duelist blade with the proviso that I always have to take and action to reload. If that's a problem let me know.]

    Flawless Bladework:
    2d6+2 12 [2d6=6, 4]

    |_
    Oo\ Ironsizide
    camo_sig2.png
  • ironsizideironsizide You must whip it Registered User regular
    The shot connects true, the lightning enveloping the automaton before exploding!

    Geth, roll 1d8+1d4 for Damage, 1ap

    The round applies the Galvanic and Burst techniques (numbs a limb with electricity, adds 1d4 dam and adds forceful tag)

    Damage, 1ap:
    1d8+1d4 3 [1d8=1] [1d4=2]

    |_
    Oo\ Ironsizide
    camo_sig2.png
  • MahnmutMahnmut Registered User regular
    Hawthorne gestures resignation. "Our salutations, mechanical hosts," he sighs, falling into a loose stance.

    Steam/LoL: Jericho89
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