Trouble in the Deep (sturm) GMed by thetwo

[thetwo]

Re: Trouble in the Deep (sturm) GMed by thetwo

He scratched himself again. "Look, I, ah... it's, um... shrouded in arcane mystery. Yea. I mean, it wouldn't be easy to find with all that enchantment and such."

The man had sounded pretty confident during his story, but now he seemed to be having some trouble with more than just if he should answer Amber's question. For that matter, she could generally detect powerful magical users by the way the local magic interacted with them. Maybe it was different among the shorebound, but she didn't feel any sort of talent at all from the old man.

 

[sturm]

Re: Trouble in the Deep (sturm) GMed by thetwo

As the man bungled through his explanation, a ray of calm, rational thought mercifully pierced through the coldness that plagued her mind and heart. This man did not seem to possess magic of such caliber. Not that she could detect. It didn't necessarily mean that he wasn't a magic user, he could seal his abilities to hide them from other users, and it was an intricate story. He could have heard it from someone else. But... There was a good chance he was just another drunk.

Waving to the barkeep, she signaled for another beer, handing over a denarii and holding the beer in front of her, tempting the man with it. "Ah well... it was a good story regardless. I don't suppose you could tell me who told it to you?"

Perhaps the old man would give her an answer, something to show that her night hadn't been a complete waste. She felt she was unlikely to get more out of him, but if he gave her reason to stay, she would, otherwise she bade him good day and departed, leaving the beer for him.

Spoiler

Man...that last post got morbid, fast...
Anywho, what time of day is it? Need to know if Amber should start looking for an inn or some such or if she should be out adventuring!

 

[thetwo]

Re: Trouble in the Deep (sturm) GMed by thetwo

"What? Nobody told me it! We all swore never to tell, until death!" He looked slightly embarrassed. "I just never said whose death. All the others are dead now, I think. Except maybe..." He cut off. "It's a true story! I was really -"

The man lowered his voice. "I might have exaggerated a little, but that's no reason to ruin a good story!"

"Fine, okay, you got me. I wasn't the leader... I wasn't even really in the fight. Fine! I can't even do magic! I made most of the magic stuff up! But I was really there, I saw them trap a god! They needed people to crew their boat, and I was the best there was!"

"Look, I don't know where the island was, but I know where we started! One of the wizards had a tower there!"

Outside it would be getting into late afternoon. A little more time for adventuring before Amber would have to find a place to sleep, but not terribly much if she intended to go inland.

 

[sturm]

Re: Trouble in the Deep (sturm) GMed by thetwo

Amber slid the beer around in front of the man, taunting him with. "Oh its a great story, I wouldn't dream of ruining it. Why don't you just tell me where you started from, where that tower is, and I'll leave you here to keep telling it? I'll even leave my friend here to keep you company..." She rocked the mug of ale from side to side enticingly.

She did her damndest to coerce the location out of the man. But if he wouldn't budge then she would leave regardless, having other, less than kind ways of extracting the information.

Seeing as it was still the afternoon, Amber would wander around the town, looking for anything that might catch her eye, and if nothing did, she would go and explore the wilderness around town, the environment being so different from that under the waves.

 

[thetwo]

Re: Trouble in the Deep (sturm) GMed by thetwo

"I'm serious, Lass, that Island is not a place you want to visit. And even the Tower... remember the sort of power we're talking about here. This is a man who went face to face with a GOD and WON."

He looked closely at the beer. "Of course... if you promise not to go there... I might tell you about the sort of place you might want to avoid." The old man's eyes snapped back up to Amber's, suddenly hard. "But not for no beer! I want your oath that you'll not go there, or spread this part of the tale, and especially that you'll never tell a soul who told you this. Lives would be at risk! My life and yours, and who knows who else! If that wizard is still alive... Your oath!"

 

[sturm]

Re: Trouble in the Deep (sturm) GMed by thetwo

Spoiler

god dommit

This human was...vexing. Amber didn't have time to waste giving the old man the oath he asked for and then finding some loophole out of it. Maybe she could trick him with the oath itself. Otherwise, she might have to resort to a more...involved method of questioning.

"Well...what about if I just promise to never speak the name of the one who told me where to...avoid. And what's more, how could a man like yourself want to end a story before it ever begins. Think of the tales that could be sung! Let me do you one better. If my journey ends in failure, no one shall know who told me such information. But if it ends in success...you will be remembered as a key figure in a tale that makes the one you told me seem like the boastings of a child. Tell me that doesn't interest a seaman like yourself? One more great tale to be remembered for."

If the old man still wouldn't bite, Amber would have to rethink her strategy. But she wasn't about to make an oath like the man wanted when her god and her kingdom needed her help. She had already sworn to do all she could, come hell or high water.

 

[thetwo]

Re: Trouble in the Deep (sturm) GMed by thetwo

The old man's expression only got more stubborn. "You're dead set on going there, aren't you? Well, I don't want to be in a story that ends with a pretty young thing like you dying in a quest for glory. Swear to me that you won't go anywhere near the tower unless more than your life depends on it, or I swear I'll take the location to my grave."

 

[sturm]

Re: Trouble in the Deep (sturm) GMed by thetwo

Amber mentally appraised the old sea dog. Maybe there was more to him than alcohol and misguided ambition after all. Maybe. Regardless, he had finally given her something she could work with.

She dropped her silly, girly, glory hound pretense. "You seem like an honorable man to care more about the fate of a stranger than your own personal glory. This is acceptable. I give you my word that if you give me the information I seek, I will go nowhere near the tower unless more than my life depends on it." With the word for word repetition of the oath, she moved the beer off to the side of the table, though still placing it within the man's reach should he want it. Hopefully now he would tell her what she wanted to know.

 

[thetwo]

Re: Trouble in the Deep (sturm) GMed by thetwo

He didn't look exactly happy, though he did pull the beer over to his side of the table. "Hmm... and a kiss." He turned his head and leaned forward, pointing at his cheek in case she didn't catch his drift.

Regardless of Amber's response, he leaned back a few seconds later with a slight chuckle. "Okay. It's not actually far from here, though it's easy to miss. I've avoided the place these past twenty years, but when I saw it, it didn't really look all that impressive. Rocks, some grass, birds and crabs. An short stone tower, not particularly impressive looking. The wizard was an older man even back then, could be dead now for all I know. And... he seemed a little different, afterward. A little off. Maybe it was just the adrenaline of what we'd done, but... really, be careful. And if you succeed at whatever it is you're doing, come back and tell me about it."

He described the location of an island a ways North, near the Badarian border. It would take a full day to swim there, with favorable tides.

Before he returned to his beer he added, somewhat sheepishly, "And, ah, remember that you didn't hear this from me."

 

[sturm]

Re: Trouble in the Deep (sturm) GMed by thetwo

Amber's eyebrow twitched... Sacrifices... she reminded herself. With a somewhat forced smile she leaned forward and gave the old guy a quick kiss on the cheek.

She listened attentively to the information he gave her about the wizard and his location. As she stood to leave, he reminded her of the other part of the deal. Heart of a lion, this one... she thought to herself. "Of course. I shall tell no one of your involvement."

Leaving the bar, she looked around. She didn't really have time to make the swim today. Night would fall before she got there, and she didn't really want to explore the island at night. Instead, she decided she would go for a little swim, maybe investigate the general area the lookout claimed they had run aground on a leviathan.

She would go to the spot she had come ashore, and wade out into the water. Once she was far enough out for the water to obscure her, she would go under and begin shifting back to her mermaid form. She would remove her human clothes, as well as the pouch of denarii, and hide them under a rock on the sea floor, she could return for them later, using a unique looking rock so she would be able to find easily later. This done, she would complete her transformation, enjoying utilizing her true appearance as she swam well beneath the waves.

 

[thetwo]

Re: Trouble in the Deep (sturm) GMed by thetwo

Amber returned to the water and her true form without trouble, stashed her disguise and human currency, and started out to sea. Once she was past the last of the breakers, she started north, moving with a speed no human could match in the water or on land. By the time the sun had reached the horizon, there was no sign of any shipwreck or leviathan, but then she wasn't quite as far North or as far out to sea as the boat was supposed to have been when it was damaged.

Still, she was on the edge of the area she'd have to search. She could instead find a place to sleep until day to have an easier time, and still probably reach the wizard's island by afternoon. Or she could search now, swim the rest of the way to the wizard's tower, and sleep until dawn. It wouldn't be terribly much sleep even if the search went quickly.

 

[sturm]

Re: Trouble in the Deep (sturm) GMed by thetwo

Amber contemplated what to do. She thought back to what she had heard about the alleged leviathan encounter. It had occurred at night, perhaps the leviathan surfaced during the night only? Regardless, she decided to spend a few hours investigating before finding a place to bed down for the night.

 

[thetwo]

Re: Trouble in the Deep (sturm) GMed by thetwo

Spoiler

Perception: 25, 39, 40, 29 v target 35

A few more miles north and a little further out to sea, Amber found what she was looking for. There was no sign that the boats had taken damage here or even been here. There was also, on close inspection, nothing particularly unusual about the seabed. But taking a look at it from further away, just close enough to make out the bottom... there were tracks. Something hard and enormous had struck the ocean floor and left prints that had only partly been filled in by the constant motion of the water even so far beneath the surface. Several somethings. In a distinctive pattern. There was little doubt that Chisei had been here.

Of course, that was several days ago, and the tracks went out deeper into the sea. And... just before Amber stopped looking and went to find a place to sleep, she spotted a glint of metal. They were just at the edge of perception through the water, and only a lucky glint of moonlight had altered her to them, but a trio of roughly humanoid figures swam below her, practically in the leviathan's tracks. They were armed, and from the vaguely repulsive features she could make out at this distance there seemed little doubt that these weren't human or mermaid. Formori.

The foul things hadn't seen her yet, and probably wouldn't if she didn't make herself known.

Spoiler

Amber: 48 HP, 57 PP, 63 SP; In the water.

Enemies:
3x Formori. Armed with metal weapons.

 

[sturm]

Re: Trouble in the Deep (sturm) GMed by thetwo

Well, Chisei had been here, no doubt about that. The sailor hadn't been *too* drunk after all. Not that she was particularly concerned with that at the moment, she had far more important things to worry about.

She was about ready to call it a night, the crab was heading in a different direction than she needed to go, and it had several days worth of head start on her. But then she saw the metal. And she saw what carried it. Fomori. Were they following the leviathan as well?

She decided she would ask them. Rather, she would ask one of them, after killing the other two.

Her first move was to summon some support, she wasn't a fan of three vs one fights, especially when she was the one. Channeling her magic to summon an ice elemental, if the Fomori were alerted and swam at her, she would ready her halberd as she prepared to cast again. If they weren't alerted, she would try to dominate one of the creatures mentally to further turn the tables on her unwitting opponents.

Spoiler

Summon Ice Elemental (lv 4 water): CC: 30 BC:30 for favored elements Cost: 6 EP
Focus in (water): +10 BC, +2 dmg/spell level, summons gain +2 body +1 AV/level

Ice Elemental Stats:

Spoiler

Body:10*4(spell level)+8(talent)+8(focus)= 56
HP: 56
Armor: 4+10(Talent)=14
Resistance: 28
Dodge: 28
Speed: 24
Perception: 24
Stealth: 24
Grapple: 56
Special Mutation: Natural Attack
Talents: Hard Hitter, Skill with Unarmed, Exceptional, Pain resistant x2

attack (unarmed): d20+56+12(talent)=d20+68
damage (unarmed): 2d12+18(nat. attack)+8(talent)+10(cold damage)=(2d12+26) +10 cold damage

Telepathy(if the Fomori aren't aware after summoning elemental): Dominate one of the Fomori
If used offensively, the character pays 8 EP and must win a Resistance check against the targeted creature. If the character wins, the targeted creature gains the Dominated status, allowing the character to control their actions as if they were a summoned minion. Forcing the creature to make actions contrary to what it would normally do or that would harm them can cause it to make another Resistance check against the character, and if they win they throw off the effect.
Amber's resistance= 20

 

[thetwo]

Re: Trouble in the Deep (sturm) GMed by thetwo

Spoiler

Perception (enemy): failure
Resistance(Amber v Formori1): 20 + 18 = 38 v ??? -> Success!

Fortunately, Amber was far enough away, and far enough from what they were interested in, that the enemy didn't spot her even when she cast her first spell. The water in front of her chilled for several seconds until a bead in the center froze solid. Then the little dot of ice starting shooting out spikes, the icicle-laden form of her elemental seeming to fold out of the initial seed until it had taken on the shape of a shark.

The elemental sat there, staring at the enemy as it awaited a command, but Amber wasn't quite ready to give away her position yet. Her next attack was psychic, seeking to dominate the will of one of the foul creatures. She felt its mind snap into alignment with her desires, and knew that the fight was now 2v2. She could try to make the Formori fight its fellows, but it almost certainly would fight much harder against such a command.

The dominated Formori froze in place for an instant while Amber established full control, and the other two noticed. They spun around, looking for the enemy. All mermaids could preform Amber's trick to a greater or lesser degree, and all mermaids were their enemy. Even these dull creatures could put those facts together, and sure enough they spotted the mermaid mage above them in short order. They started swimming towards her, leaving their dominated fellow behind.

Amber could see now that the metal was the long head of an odd spear, almost a short sword blade at the end of a pole. The creatures looked like especially ugly humans, with webbed fingers and toes, and abnormally large feet. Their faces looked unpleasant even from a distance. And the formori seemed to swim only a little better then humans. At least, these ones did. The Formori were comprised of many different species, and the merfolk weren't even certain they'd seen every one. Some were deadly fighters. Some were near-invisible scouts. These ones didn't seem to be either.

Spoiler

Amber: 48 HP, 57 PP, 49/63 SP; In the water.
Ice elemental: 56 HP.

Enemies:
2x Formori. Armed with metal weapons.
1x Formori. Armed with a metal weapon, dominated.

 

[sturm]

Re: Trouble in the Deep (sturm) GMed by thetwo

The battle was on. Amber indicated she wanted her summon to pound the Fomori on the right into a pulp, she would focus on the one on the left.

Swimming rapidly towards the Fomori formation, her Halberd in her right hand, her left outstretched, she abruptly cast another spell, this one intending to blind her opponents, leaving them vulnerable to follow up attacks.

Additionally, she ordered the dominated Fomori to simply stand by and look off into the ocean away from the fight.

Spoiler

lv 3. Light:CC: 20 BC 30 Costs 4 EP
{HF} Searing Light (Cone) [Targets affected by this spell must win a Resistance check against the caster or become Blinded. The caster gets a +4 bonus to this check.]
Attack: d20+52
Damage: [(1d6+6)*3]+6 {HF}
Resistance Check: d20+36

 

[thetwo]

Re: Trouble in the Deep (sturm) GMed by thetwo

Spoiler

Attack(Elemental v Formori2): 17+68 = 85 -> Hit!
Damage(Elemetnal v Formori2): (2,1)+26 = 29 damage
Damage(Elemetnal v Formori2): 10 cold damage.
->Formori2 is killed
Attack(Amber v Formori3): 3+52 = 55 -> Hit!
Damage(Amber v Formori3): (5+8)*3 = 39
->Formori3 is killed

Rarely in a battle does the plan survive the initial attack intact. But this was one of those times. The ice shark tore into its designated target viciously, with magically-enhanced strength. Teeth of ice shouldn't have been able to tear flesh so easily, but after a few seconds all Amber could see was the perfectly intact elemental swimming out of a cloud of blood.

Amber's own attack was just as deadly in effect if not in appearance. The flash of light was so intense that it left a bubble of steam that drifted apart for a second before snapping back into water with a shockwave that felt like a minor explosion. And the strange deformed man stopped moving, blood trailing faintly from his eyes, ears, and mouth.

Which left only the third Formori, dutifully watching the ocean in the opposite direction of the battle. Amber could feel him stirring slightly under her control, desire to flee conflicting with the desire not to have her chase him.

Spoiler

Amber: 48 HP, 57 PP, 45/63 SP; In the water.
Ice elemental: 56 HP.

Enemies:
1x Formori. Armed with a spear, dominated.

 

[sturm]

Re: Trouble in the Deep (sturm) GMed by thetwo

The attack went rather well, the weak Fomori fighters going down without much of a struggle.

It was gratifying to be so overwhelming successful in a fight, but Amber was careful to not let it go to her head. There were fighters far better than her in this great ocean, and for all she knew they might be hiding just out of sight.

She commanded her elemental to keep watch for additional enemies while she swam a little closer to the last Fomori.

"Tell me why you are here, why you are following Chisei, and if there are more of you in the area and things will go better for you." Better in this case was as swift and painless a death as Amber could provide, but the Fomori needn't know that. Better to avoid doing anything that would incite alarm in him.

Spoiler

Just some questions:
1. Do Merfolk communicate telepathically all the time while underwater and does it cost EP?
2. How long can a magical summon stick around? Could I have Jaws stick around and keep watch while I sleep, do they vanish after a time, or do they require an upkeep for something like that?

 

[thetwo]

Re: Trouble in the Deep (sturm) GMed by thetwo

Spoiler

1.) You can't speak normally underwater (hence the requirement that all merfolk are psions), and it does cost EP. In this case I'll rule that you can use the offensive telepathic link you've already established for communication as well.
2.) Mage summons aren't actual living creatures. They'll fall apart naturally after a few minutes (much longer then a single fight), or immediately when you go unconscious (including sleep).

The Formori pursed its twisted imitation of lips, and its eyes darted back and forth nervously. Or maybe that's the way they always looked. It didn't seem to be resisting much so far, with the promise that it hadn't seen through. "We... sought to track the leviathan. We would not fight it, but we must know where the beasts are to avoid them."

Spoiler

Amber: 48 HP, 57 PP, 45/63 SP; In the water.
Ice elemental: 56 HP.

Enemies:
1x Formori. Armed with a spear, dominated.

 

[sturm]

Re: Trouble in the Deep (sturm) GMed by thetwo

Amber had one last question for the Fomori. "Are there more of your brethren nearby?" Once she had received some sort of answer, she would ask another, redundant question. "What is your mission?" This was only to get he Fomori thinking about something, her question, why she may have asked it, anything. While he was responding, she drew back her halberd and aimed to decapitate him while he wasn't thinking about his imminent death. Of course, if he put up a fight, she would just have her elemental eat him, but she would try for the execution as a final courtesy to a defeated opponent. She did not wish to make another warrior suffer needlessly as she had no grudge against him except for his people and hers were at war.

The battle decided, it was time to find some sleep and rest for the coming day's journey. She wasn't quite sure what she would do about this wizard... if he was all the sailor said, he was far more powerful than her, and mentally unbalanced as well. A bad combination.