Ashnabis session 41
Summary
Session
Session date: October 18, 2020
Fair Cycle date:
Introduction
<AshnabisGM> Half a day in, and your knees are sore, but at least you're out of the office. There's a certain peace to just doing your job, as you've always imagined it.
<AshnabisGM> End of the first day, your knees and feet are sore, but at least you're together. Well, except for Junan, who is out still on some sort of envoy business. You're sure he'll fill you in later.
<AshnabisGM> Washteppo spent the day rooting around your survey site enthusiastically. She's a good baby ... well, not so much of a baby anymore. Hippos aren't meant to live on ships and every hour she can spend roaming the swamp and eating foliage is well spent.
<AshnabisGM> Mogri and Bashi are hanging back on the Menagerie, where Aptan and Ulutse are holed up, keeping an eye on things at the boat while you do the survey.
<AshnabisGM> A day and a half in, and you're starting to get on each others' nerves. That wouldn't be so bad, except for the rain. It feels wrong to complain about the cool wintry rains of Zhuno, after this summer's droughts and famines. But your soaked clothes and hair compel at least a quiet moan.
Washteppo inadvertently finds a treasure
<AshnabisGM> Now for two full days, you've been surveying lands east of the formal borders of the Kaskind Territory, along the brooks and creeks that flow south into the Kaskos. The land here is soggy, half-river, half-land, and the work is slow, but the maps are coming together well.
<AshnabisGM> But by the end of the work day, Washteppo is seeming listless. She is staying very close to you, Jimba, and whining softly from time to time.
<Jimba> I'll see if I can figure out what's wrong.
<AshnabisGM> You can (or maybe Daifan can?) make a Heal check to examine her.
<Jimba> I'll ask Daifan to do so.
<Jimba> Can I make a Handle Animal check to get any insight?
<AshnabisGM> Sure, you can try rolling that.
<Jimba> !roll 1d20+16
* Lan-werk rolls for Jimba: [ 1d20+16 ] getting [ 11 ] which, after the modifier [ 16 ] totals [ 27 ].
<Daifan> !roll 1d20+16
* Lan-werk rolls for Daifan: [ 1d20+16 ] getting [ 20 ] which, after the modifier [ 16 ] totals [ 36 ].
<Daifan> (YOu can handle anmal her so I can doa thorough check ;p)
<AshnabisGM> Daifan, it seems to be a digestive problem. For a human, the obvious treatment would be a few specially chosen berries from your healer's kit and a gentle massage of the abdomen to... relieve the issue. Maybe that works on hippos too?
<AshnabisGM> Jimba can reassure her and let her know it's okay if you touch her.
<Daifan> I don't know how it will work for her... We can try it, but you can do the massaging >.>
<Jimba> Okay.
* Jimba still looks worried.
* Longpig is now known as Llillilli
* Llillilli watches, frowning
<AshnabisGM> You adminster the treatment near the side of the river, just in case. Washteppo gives some grumbles but doesn't put up any serious objections. Then you wait...
<Daifan> its a native berry from the swamp - I at least don't think it would hurt her >.>
<AshnabisGM> Soon, the problem comes to rest visibly in a steaming pile of brown and silver on the ground ... wait, what? You see a glint of metal against the leaves and leavings.
<Katenzhi> Not it.
<Daifan> oooh, that would do it
<Llillilli> She's your pet.
* Llillilli elbows Jimba
<Veznara> Ew.
<Daifan> pfft
* Daifan will get a stick and extricate the object from the pile that way
<Jimba> Yeah, yeah, I'm on it.
<Jimba> It's just poop, you guys.
<Jimba> And there's water everywhere.
* Llillilli shrugs
* Jimba will get the metal.
<AshnabisGM> You extract a small silver figurine, perhaps the length of a pinky finger, which is revealed (once washed off) to be in the shape of a raven.
<Jimba> Now where could you possibly have gotten this?
<AshnabisGM> Washteppo seems much improved, giving a snort of relief and going back to grazing at the riverbank.
<Katenzhi> Well that couldn't have been fun coming out
<Daifan> no
<Daifan> no wonder her tummy hurt
<Llillilli> maybe it was on the bottom of the river.
* Jimba will wash the figurine and himself off in the river.
<Llillilli> She eats plants from there, right?
<Jimba> Usually she grazes on the shore, but, yeah, she eats river plants, too.
<Daifan> or somewhere around here...
<Jimba> (What's around here?)
<Jimba> (Also, can I roll Appraise to evaluate the figurine?)
<AshnabisGM> Sure.
<Jimba> !roll 1d20+8
* Lan-werk rolls for Jimba: [ 1d20+8 ] getting [ 15 ] which, after the modifier [ 8 ] totals [ 23 ].
<AshnabisGM> There's not a lot right in this immediate area, to be honest. You haven't found any ruins or old farm sites or the like here in your day's surveying. It is marshy, muddy land along the river, so it's possible if something fell overboard from a boat, maybe? But this is not an area that shows signs of much traffic or habitation.
<Veznara> !roll 1d20+20
* Lan-werk rolls for Veznara: [ 1d20+20 ] getting [ 2 ] which, after the modifier [ 20 ] totals [ 22 ].
<Katenzhi> Maybe one of those stupid kids that plays by the dock fed it to her.
<Jimba> Kat, it's silver. That'd have to be a rich dumb kid.
<AshnabisGM> I also note that you've been out here for 2 days at this point, so it's somewhat unlikely she ate it back at the docks - it did probably get into her system somewhere in this area.
* Jimba also comments on that.
<Katenzhi> (Hey, I don't know how long it takes a hippo to poop!)
<Llillilli> Could have been carried here from.. anywhere upstream.
* Jimba nods.
<AshnabisGM> Veznara, you don't know of any special historical significance to a silver raven figurine.
<Jimba> (How well-carved is it? I guess that's part of Appraise. >.> )
<AshnabisGM> (yup, I just have to look up the value of the thing :)
<Llillilli> Well, it's yours now
<Jimba> (Heh, okay)
<Jimba> Yeah, I guess so.
<Jimba> As lucky a break as you can get from hippo poop.
* Daifan smiles at that
<Jimba> (To Washteppo) Who's a good hippopoopamus?
<Jimba> Feeling better?
* Daifan snickers
* Jimba scritches behind her ears.
They analyze and then activate the raven, Chigarga
<AshnabisGM> Jimba, it's very well carved - and although you think it looks old, it's very well-preserved for having been in mud/the river/a hippo's stomach. The details are still very clear and it looks expensive. Someone interested in historical artifacts might pay a great deal of money for it.
<Jimba> Huh.
<Jimba> Hey Kat?
<Katenzhi> Yeah?
<Jimba> This thing seems pretty well-preserved. There's no chance it's, like, magic or anything, is there?
<Katenzhi> Oh... uhhh... I can check.
* Katenzhi sighs.
<Katenzhi> Fuck. That means I have to touch it.
<Katenzhi> Gimme
<Jimba> I washed it.
<Jimba> Get over yourself.
<Jimba> ;)
* Jimba hands it over.
* Katenzhi will cast detect magic on it.
<Katenzhi> !roll 1d20+13
* Lan-werk rolls for Katenzhi: [ 1d20+13 ] getting [ 13 ] which, after the modifier [ 13 ] totals [ 26 ].
<AshnabisGM> You detect that the item is magic. It is (I assume) the most powerful magic in the area of the spell. You are able to determine that it is moderate conjuration and transmutation magic.
<AshnabisGM> You can roll Spellcraft to try to identify its properties.
<Katenzhi> !roll 1d20+16
* Lan-werk rolls for Katenzhi: [ 1d20+16 ] getting [ 5 ] which, after the modifier [ 16 ] totals [ 21 ].
<Daifan> maybe i can turn you into a raven.
<Daifan> (it)
<Daifan> (I woudl not want to try polymorph at my level ;)
<Llillilli> Hm.
<AshnabisGM> Kat, you believe it's a messenger. It can be commanded to deliver a message like an Animal Messenger spell, or otherwise act as a living raven at the owner's command word.
<Katenzhi> Huh...
<Katenzhi> I think it's a messenger raven.
<AshnabisGM> But it can only act in this way for so long - once the duration expires, it would turn back into a lifeless figure.
<Jimba> Say what now?
* Llillilli makes a quasi-impressed face.
<Llillilli> Hm.
<AshnabisGM> (specifically, up to 24 hours a week, but that doesn't have to be continuous ;)
<Katenzhi> Like... you you can use it to deliver a message to someone in raven form.
<Jimba> Huh.
<Jimba> That sounds fantastically useful.
<Llillilli> Does the raven talk then?
<Jimba> And also not something someone just drops...
<Veznara> I wonder where it came from?
<Katenzhi> Yeah, it would be pretty valuable.
<Llillilli> sunken boat?
<Llillilli> Unfortunate traveler?
<Jimba> Could be, I guess.
<Jimba> (We didn't see anything suspicious, did we? Shipwreck, bones, etc?)
<Daifan> maybe it was too far to finish delivering its message?
<Katenzhi> I wonder if it discharged it's last mission. Maybe if I figure out the activation word we could see if it still has a message.
<Daifan> and it fell out of the sky here>
<Daifan> mmhmm
<AshnabisGM> You didn't see any shipwreck or remains in the immediate area you were surveying, no.
<AshnabisGM> Kat (in answer to Llillilli's question) - it does not talk, nor give the person receiving the message ability to comprehend the animal. Usually it might have a message tied to it.
<Veznara> I wonder... could we just ask Washteppo where she found it?
<AshnabisGM> (at least, that's how the spell it's related to works, Animal Messenger)
<Katenzhi> (Oh, I misunderstood, then, my bad)
<Jimba> Oh, yeah, I guess so.
<Veznara> It *is
* small, so I suppose she may not have noticed when she swallowed it... but perhaps it's worth asking.
<AshnabisGM> It would have a command word to operate it, which you don't know currently. You could use Identify to determine that, I think?
<Jimba> Kat, spot me some fos? I'll pay you back.
<Katenzhi> Knock yourself out.
* Katenzhi hands you her sack
* Katenzhi ...of fos
<Jimba> (hee)
* Jimba will take 6 doses of fos and try to cast the spell.
<Jimba> !roll 1d20+7
* Lan-werk rolls for Jimba: [ 1d20+7 ] getting [ 18 ] which, after the modifier [ 7 ] totals [ 25 ].
* NPC1 is now known as Washteppo
<AshnabisGM> Ok, you can cast the spell, no problem.
* Washteppo waddles around, a little uncertainly.
<Jimba> Feeling better?
<Washteppo> Yes, that was a bad one.
* Jimba pats her gently.
<Jimba> Do you remember eating this?
* Jimba shows her the figurine.
* Washteppo goes over to it and sniffs it
<Washteppo> I think, maybe? Down in some plants by the river?
<Jimba> Can you show me where?
<Washteppo> I can try.
<Jimba> That's all I can ask.
* Washteppo wanders away.
* Jimba smiles.
* Jimba follows her.
* Daifan will go with curious
<Washteppo> I think it was over here maybe, in the reeds.
* Llillilli tags along
* Jimba will take a look around.
* Veznara will follow...
<Llillilli> WHat does it sound like to you when she talks?
* Daifan can redeplo th poking stick they picked up earlier
<Daifan> (perception?)
<Jimba> Like she's talking?
<Daifan> do hippos have an accent?
<Jimba> Or are you asking what her voice sounds like?
<Llillilli> Yes.
<Llillilli> Her voice.
<Llillilli> It just sounds like grunts to me.
<Llillilli> Normal hippo noises.
<Jimba> (What does it sound like?)
<AshnabisGM> (deep and kind of grumbly, I imagine :)
* Jimba relays that info.
<Llillilli> Hm.
* Llillilli nods, filing that information away
* Jimba will also look around the area.
<Llillilli> Ask her if she likes me
<AshnabisGM> You can make Perception checks around the area in question, sure.
<Llillilli> !roll 1d20+16
* Lan-werk rolls for Llillilli: [ 1d20+16 ] getting [ 20 ] which, after the modifier [ 16 ] totals [ 36 ].
<Jimba> !roll 1d20+13
* Lan-werk rolls for Jimba: [ 1d20+13 ] getting [ 7 ] which, after the modifier [ 13 ] totals [ 20 ].
<Jimba> (Well, that was pointless after Llillilli)
<Jimba> (:P)
<Daifan> !roll 1d20+16
* Lan-werk rolls for Daifan: [ 1d20+16 ] getting [ 18 ] which, after the modifier [ 16 ] totals [ 34 ].
<AshnabisGM> You search the area but find nothing of significance. It seems likely the theory (which I think Daifan and Kat expressed?) that it may have been in transit to deliver a message when its duration ran out or something else happened to prevent it from completing its task and returning to its owner. It fell around here and lay undiscovered until Washteppo turned it up.
<Jimba> Huh. I wonder how long it's been out here.
<Veznara> Good question... it could have been a very long time.
<Veznara> !roll 1d20+3
* Lan-werk rolls for Veznara: [ 1d20+3 ] getting [ 8 ] which, after the modifier [ 3 ] totals [ 11 ].
<Jimba> (I'm assuming it didn't have message attached to it?)
<Daifan> well... lets see if we can figure out how to work it.
<AshnabisGM> Veznara, you think it is probably Imperial vintage, several hundred years old - it doesn't seem like a new or modern item, or of the local art style, but beyond that you aren't sure more precisely.
* Katenzhi will cast identify
<Veznara> It *does
* look like it dates back to Imperial times...
<AshnabisGM> It doesn't have a message attached that you can see, no, Jimba.
<Katenzhi> 1d20+13
<Katenzhi> !roll 1d20+13
* Lan-werk rolls for Katenzhi: [ 1d20+13 ] getting [ 3 ] which, after the modifier [ 13 ] totals [ 16 ].
<Jimba> Huh.
<Jimba> So it could have been out here for centuries.
<Jimba> Lucky you ate it, eh?
* Jimba pats Washteppo.
<Jimba> Though I'm sorry for the discomfort.
<Washteppo> That's all right, I thought it would be tastier.
<Washteppo> My mistake.
<AshnabisNarrator> Katenzhi, with your divination, you discern that this figurine does indeed transform into a message-bearing raven. You are also able to tap the Source to draw out a single word of power: Chigarga.
<Katenzhi> Ok... I think I got it.
<Katenzhi> But... if I trigger it, it might fly off to wherever it was going.
<Katenzhi> Should we follow it?
<Daifan> (does that mean anything?)
<AshnabisGM> (If you have the command word, you control it - so you could command it to return to you, presumably.)
<Daifan> just transform it and see what happens :3
<Katenzhi> Alright...
<Katenzhi> Chigarga
<Jimba> Hey now.
<Jimba> My hippo, her poop, my bird. ;)
<Katenzhi> (too late! :D )
<AshnabisGM> The figure grows much larger, shifting into the semblance of a living raven, although its feathers maintain a metallic silver sheen. It perches on your arm, waiting for further commands. Now that it is larger than a pinky finger and moving, you can see a small scroll attached to its leg.
<Katenzhi> Oooooooh
<Jimba> Oh, hey.
* Jimba will go take a look.
* Katenzhi pets the raven
<Daifan> this would have been so handy in Pashas...
<Llillilli> Mm-hm.
* Jimba will carefully take the scroll and see if he can read it.
<AshnabisGM> You can detach the scroll and unroll it, Jimba. it's a piece of parchment, it doesn't seem fragile or damaged with age, but then, it's been in 'storage' for however long.
<Llillilli> What is it?
<Katenzhi> What's it say?
<AshnabisGM> The writing appears old-fashioned to you, but it is in Ombesh, and you can make it out with a bit of effort. You read: "Our enemies besiege us on the east and north flanks. The reinforcements promised on Savos have not yet arrived. The position cannot be held." At the end of the message is an imprint of a seal or sigil that you don't recognize.
* Jimba will relay that message.
<Jimba> Veznara, does this seal look familiar to you at all?
* Llillilli leans on her pole, watching the bird
* Veznara takes a look at the seal.
<Veznara> !roll 1d20+7
* Lan-werk rolls for Veznara: [ 1d20+7 ] getting [ 7 ] which, after the modifier [ 7 ] totals [ 14 ].
<AshnabisGM> After peering at it for a bit, you believe it is the crest of the Tertizhi family, a noble Omban lineage of long standing.
<Veznara> ...that's the Tertizhi crest, I think!
<Jimba> Who're they?
<Veznara> We should take this to Dezren and Hegha...
<Veznara> You remember! They were the reason we were sent to Fort Kinjilai.
* Veznara looks around, taking careful note of the area.
<Daifan> oh....the sword people?
* Llillilli shrugs
<Jimba> Oh, huh.
<Veznara> Yes, that's right. Dezren Tertizhi wants to recover it. I'm sure he and his wife would be interested in this. Perhaps they would know more about it.
<Jimba> Interesting.
<Veznara> Is there a signature?
<Jimba> We could check with them when we get back home, I guess.
<Llillilli> As long as they pay for it
<AshnabisGM> Presumably the seal *is
* the signature, at least in the sense that it is authorized by someone holding the Tertizhi seal.
<Veznara> Hmmm. Well, let's show it to them - I'm sure they'll be interested.
* Jimba nods.
<AshnabisGM> OKay - we should probably move along. It's likely getting dark by this point, since you've been looking around, and you can return to the boat to rest for the night and continue your survey tomorrow.
<Jimba> (Sounds good)
<AshnabisGM> Kat, are you leaving the raven in bird form or turning it back to a figurine? just out of curiosity :)
<AshnabisGM> (or whoever wants to control the bird, I suppose ;)
<Katenzhi> (I'll let it stretch its wings for a while :3 )
<Veznara> Of course, there's someone else we could ask about it as well...
<Daifan> oh?
<Veznara> Lentus Odazhi - I'm sure there's at least a chance that he'd have some insight into it.
<Daifan> Junan is close with someone who trades in antiquities - maybe he would know
<Daifan> but hmm, maybe, yes
<Veznara> !roll 1d20+20
* Lan-werk rolls for Veznara: [ 1d20+20 ] getting [ 10 ] which, after the modifier [ 20 ] totals [ 30 ].
<Daifan> can the bird say who it was delivering to?
<Daifan> or from
<Daifan> ?
<Katenzhi> I guess we can try to ask it.
<AshnabisGM> Veznara, you don't really know, the information given is too vague - it could apply to a lot of situations, and you don't know where this bird was coming from well enough to narrow down a specific location.
* Katenzhi will cast speak with animals.
<Katenzhi> !roll 1d20+13
* Lan-werk rolls for Katenzhi: [ 1d20+13 ] getting [ 19 ] which, after the modifier [ 13 ] totals [ 32 ].
* Katenzhi will scratch it under its chin.
* Washteppo is now known as Chigarga
<Katenzhi> Where were you headed with that message, pretty thing?
<Chigarga> I was caw-manded to make caw-ntact with the leaders at Fort Demnu, caw.
* Katenzhi laughs
<Katenzhi> Who sent it? And from where?
<AshnabisGM> heh
<AshnabisGM> (ww)
<AshnabisNarrator> The general sent me. She's the one who gives me my orders.
<Katenzhi> Where was the general when you left?
<Chigarga> At the encampment.
<Katenzhi> Hmmm...
* Katenzhi will relay this to the otehrs
<Veznara> Fort Demnu...
* Llillilli shrugs.
<Veznara> Where was this encampment, though?
<Katenzhi> Could you take us to the encampment?
<Llillilli> ... but why?
<Llillilli> There won't be anyone there.
<Daifan> or anythig
<Daifan> how woudl the bird even find it?
<Veznara> The silksword might be there.
* Llillilli looks dubious
<AshnabisGM> (it's late by this point, so anything you would be doing, you'd have to do tomorrow.)
<Llillilli> They'd just leave it. At some camp site.
<Veznara> And I expect the bird should be able to find its way back, shouldn't it? It is a messenger, after all.
<Veznara> Let's find out whether it's nearby. If it is, we may as well explore it now.
<Llillilli> meh.
<Veznara> If not, we can take the news back to Dezren. I'm sure he'll want to mount an expedition to follow up on the clue.
* Llillilli looks over at Jimba
<Katenzhi> Jimba, it's your bird.
<Jimba> I mean, worth a look? Who knows? Chigarga was still here.
<Jimba> And we can continue surveying.
* Daifan flicks a strand of wet hair back out of their face and sighs
<Veznara> How is it that the bird wasn't able to deliver the message, by the way? What happened?
<Katenzhi> How did you end up here, pretty bird? Did your time run out?
<Chigarga> I was flying, it hadn't been long, I had really just left the encampment, and then ... nothing.
<Katenzhi> Huh...
<Katenzhi> some kind of anti magic, maybe.
<Jimba> Can the magic be dispelled or something?
<Veznara> What? It was intercepted somehow?
<Katenzhi> Sounds like it.
<Jimba> Or what happens if they take damage?
<Jimba> People try to down messenger birds in wartime, I think.
<AshnabisGM> Katenzhi - your understanding based on your examination is that if the bird was killed while in its 'living' form, it would revert to statue form. Likewise it could potentially have been subjected to a dispel effect of some kind that would have stopped it from working. You aren't sure which it might be, although presumably if it had been shot with an arrow or something it might remember
<AshnabisGM> that?
<Daifan> hmm
<Katenzhi> Could be. Although I think it would remember being shot, unless it was an instantaneous kill.
<Veznara> How long had it been flying?
<Katenzhi> It said not long. Just out of the camp.
<Veznara> That means the site could be very close! :)
<Daifan> well, if t isn't cfar then it wont takeus long to check it out tomorrow, and we can see what we can figure out then. But for now - I'm goig to see if I can get warm on the ship >.>
<Katenzhi> Yeah, I could use a fire and a drink.
<AshnabisGM> You can certainly keep an eye out for camps or other signs of military activity in your surveying tomorrow - you'll be continuing in this general area, just a bit upriver.
* Veznara nods, but seems pretty excited.
Heading further up the river, they encounter Mayiru with some of her hippo pirates
<AshnabisGM> The night passes uneventfully. You head east upriver the next day, in a well-travelled part of the Kaskos, towards your next survey site. Light rain continues to fall.
<AshnabisGM> This is a shipping route where overland trade comes down from the high passes and hills that lead to Daligash, meeting the river and continuing towards the sea. Some of this could indeed be good agricultural land someday, for fos, or for something else.
<AshnabisGM> Who's driving the boat, Jimba or Kat?
<Jimba> I'll drive?
<Jimba> I guess
<Katenzhi> (That's fine. Either way.)
<AshnabisGM> You can make a p: sailor check, then.
<Jimba> !roll 1d20+13
* Lan-werk rolls for Jimba: [ 1d20+13 ] getting [ 4 ] which, after the modifier [ 13 ] totals [ 17 ].
<Jimba> (oof)
<Jimba> (Still not a bad total)
<AshnabisGM> Just in time, you spot a large log, submerged nearly beneath the surface. The glint of nails sticking out of it suggests that this is no mere random driftwood. With considerable effort, you manage to avoid hitting it, barely - it scrapes against your hull without serious damage, but if you had hit it harder, it could have been bad.
<AshnabisGM> Looking more closely, you see indeed that the log is fastened to the riverbank and appears to have been laid as a trap for unwary riverboats.
<Jimba> Pirates.
<AshnabisGM> Out of the underbrush, you hear a commotion. A trio of riders emerge, each on a full-grown hippo.
<AshnabisGM> Jimba, you are startled at first, but then you recognize your friend Mayiru, just as she recognizes you.
* Chigarga is now known as Mayiru
<Jimba> Oh, well, I was right, but not problem.
* Katenzhi reaches for her fos
* Mayiru is a wiry, thin woman around thirty years of age, with long dark hair tied up at the back. She is astride her mighty Auri, her beloved hippo, who grunts as if unsure what to do.
* Jimba waves to them.
<Mayiru> Stand down and prepare to be ... ah, shit. Jimba.
* Jimba grins.
<Jimba> Hey Mayiru.
* Mayiru smiles ruefully, as she motions to her warriors to pull the log from the river.
<Jimba> How's it going?
<Katenzhi> Fuck me, you scared us!
* Daifan will just hng batch and watch for now
* Mayiru laughs.
<Mayiru> Good, that was the point.
<Mayiru> These your friends?
<Jimba> Everybody's gotta make a living, Kat.
<Jimba> Friends and family.
<Daifan> (hang back)
<Jimba> Coworkers, too.
<Jimba> (Has she met Kat or Llillilli?)
<Mayiru> (I don't think she's met anyone, no)
<Jimba> This is my cousin Katenzhi and my sister Llillilli.
* Llillilli eyes the motley troop
<Jimba> This is my friend Mayiru.
* Mayiru nods.
<Jimba> And how are you doing today, Auri?
<Mayiru> I am indeed, Mayiru Laguur, and these are my Ivory Knives.
* Jimba smiles at Mayiru's hippo.
<Mayiru> Auri is doing well. And Washteppo, you've grown!
* Jimba smiles proudly.
<Jimba> How's 'hunting'?
<Mayiru> Not bad, all things considered. They're getting smarter, but not fast enough.
<Mayiru> (by the way, this is all in Aummesh)
<Jimba> (cool)
<Mayiru> What about you? How's your 'hunting'?
<Jimba> We're just doing some surveys.
<Mayiru> This far upriver?
* Jimba shrugs.
* Mayiru says, with perhaps a hint of disappointment.
<Jimba> It's just mapping for now.
<Mayiru> Finding anything good?
* Jimba pauses for just a moment.
<Jimba> We did come across something interesting.
<Jimba> Well, 'Teppo did.
<Jimba> (Has Kat been holding onto the figurine?)
<Mayiru> (I don't know)
<Jimba> (That was more to ask Tuck)
<Katenzhi> (Sorry, yeah, unless Jimba wanted it back)
<Veznara> The area is unusual... are we the first team to come this far?
<Jimba> (I mean, kinda, but I don't want to hog the poopraven.)
<Katenzhi> (No, have at :) )
<Katenzhi> (It's your poop)
<Jimba> (Animals are my thing, but magic is your thing...)
<Jimba> (heh)
* Jimba produces the figurine and says Chigarga's name quietly.
* Mayiru doesn't answer Veznara ... perhaps intentionally?
* Veznara curses inwardly
* Mayiru steps back, impressed as the raven transforms.
<Mayiru> Where did you find that, you little stinker?
* Mayiru asks Washteppo in a cute voice.
<Jimba> Where else? Eating reeds on the side of the river.
<Jimba> I figure it must have washed down or something.
<Mayiru> Hmm. Must be old.
<Jimba> We think so, yeah.
<Mayiru> It reminds me of a place, not too far from here, perhaps a mile or so to the southeast. A sunken battle site, where our ancestors fought, centuries ago, or so my grandmother told me long ago. A lake of cypresses and willows, tethered to the silt. The children used to call it the Glinting.
<Jimba> Well now, that's interesting.
<Mayiru> There are baubles and trinkets and bits of armor there, that kind of thing, sometimes visible just below the water's surface. This reminds me of things we used to find there. Little mementos of the Ancestors.
<Jimba> What battle was fought there?
<Mayiru> Oh, I don't know their names or anything like that.
<Jimba> The Glinting isn't sacred or anything, is it? I wouldn't mind going to take a look, see if that's where this little one came from.
<Jimba> But I don't want to upset anyone.
<Mayiru> Sacred, like holy? No ...
<Jimba> But?
<Mayiru> But maybe it's not a good look for Imperial agents to go looting our old sites.
<Jimba> You've got me there.
<Jimba> I'll be honest, it's more historical curiosity for me, but there could be others interested.
* Mayiru considers.
<Mayiru> You're going no matter what, aren't you?
<Jimba> Not if you wave me off.
* Mayiru considers.
<Mayiru> I'm coming with you.
<Jimba> That's fair.
* Llillilli looks mildly surprised
<Jimba> Lead the way, then. :)
* Mayiru goes and talks to her Ivory Knives, who go about resetting their trap and getting ready for the next unsuspecting victim.
<Mayiru> Come on, Auri, we're going for an adventure.
* Mayiru pats her hippo's rump.
<AshnabisGM> You make steady progress with Mayiru as your guide, moving south and east across the broken lands. In places, logs and boards have been placed strategically across water too far to leap. The hippos need to swim there, but of course they don't mind.
* lan_phone (uid1351@id-1351.charlton.irccloud.com) Quit (Quit: Connection closed for inactivity�)
<AshnabisGM> You reach an area where a densely covered islet is surrounded by a near- lake; the water is deep here, but not murky. Logs make a path that is nearly traversable from one end to the other, to the island, and then beyond to the other side.
<AshnabisGM> In one place, though, whatever path may once have existed has fallen away, and here, you need to use Washteppo and Auri to move your group from one side to the other.
<AshnabisGM> As you are doing so, the water beneath you begins to stir - ripples circle out to your right. Out of the water, something emerges.
<AshnabisGM> It's hard for you to put into words. A mass of blue-green eels are formed into a cluster, for a moment seeming almost human in shape, then like an animal, then shapeless tendrils writhing here, then there. It advances upon you.
<AshnabisGM> (and now we'll go to roll20 :)
<AshnabisGM> (Tuck, you there?)
<Daifan> Jimba:Daifan, would you mind giving her a lookover..:how is Washteppo?
<Daifan> Jimba:(Oh, we're eating eels for days)
<Daifan> Nary R. (GM):(let's move back to irc so we have this in the logs :)
<Daifan> Lannie P.:of course, if you keep her calm
<Daifan> (close enough)
* Jimba will speak soothingly to Washteppo.
<Daifan> she'll need more serious tending wen we stop, as well
* Jimba nods.
<Mayiru> You have grown, little one, haven't you?
* Daifan wll fortune for jimba, then look over the hippo
* Mayiru says to Washteppo, sounding impressed
<Daifan> (is anyone else hurt?)
<Jimba> You showed them what's what, eh girl?
<Mayiru> You ever think of going feral and giving up your city life, Jimba, you let us know, right?
<Mayiru> We could use a soldier like Teppo. Oh, and you too.
<Daifan> !roll 1d20+16
* Lan-werk rolls for Daifan: [ 1d20+16 ] getting [ 17 ] which, after the modifier [ 16 ] totals [ 33 ].
<Katenzhi> I guess I should stop complaining about her crapping on the deck.
* Jimba chuckles at Mayiru, then laughs at Kat.
<Jimba> I don't know about feral. Semi-domesticated is working out fine for me.
* Veznara will quietly take two more doses of fos as the combat ends, and cast Locate Object to find a silksword...
<Daifan> (I don't even knwo what that would be - just first aid for now, though she isn't dyig :p)
<Veznara> roll! 1d20+8
<Veznara> !roll 1d20+8
* Lan-werk rolls for Veznara: [ 1d20+8 ] getting [ 5 ] which, after the modifier [ 8 ] totals [ 13 ].
<Veznara> !roll 1d100
* Lan-werk rolls for Veznara: [ 1d100 ] getting [ 51 ].
<AshnabisGM> Ok, Veznara, after a slight delay, you do sense the presence, some distance ahead of you, of a silksword.
Arriving at the site of an ancient battle, they fight a creature made of eels, and then find treasure, including a silksword
<AshnabisGM> Mayiru guides you the rest of the way, a short distance further, to the area she called The Glinting.
<Mayiru> Here it is.
* Daifan will set up to take care of Washteppo while others poke around
* Veznara will try to locate the specific source of the sensation, but without drawing too much attention...
<AshnabisGM> It's a sunken place, mostly shallow water, with only a few bits of earth sticking up. The trees here are old, emerging from the water like monuments to the dead. Two great cypresses, oldest of all, stand at the far end, the last living witnesses, perhaps, to whatever took place here. Veznara, the sword is somewhere in the water, snarled in the weeds and mud, but you can sense it.
<AshnabisGM> At first, it doesn't look like much. It would be easy enough to wander by this place and not notice anything. But you wade forward just a step or two and immediately see a fragment of red enamel, attached to a piece of what must have been a soldier's brooch, in Omban style.
<Daifan> (do you want me to re-roll that heal or can I keep it :p)
* Jimba will take a look around.
<AshnabisGM> (I'm just not sure what it can do, if you want to keep going? if you wanted to heal Washteppo you'd have to stop for an hour or more)
<Veznara> (Do I have anything to wrap it in? I'd prefer to take it away without Rude Pirate Lady noticing...)
<AshnabisGM> (she doesn't need stabilizing because she wasn't below 0, but if you want to keep the roll until you can stop and rest, that's okay?)
<Daifan> (okay, I'll keeo it unti later :p)
* Daifan will just poke ariund for stuff then, curious
<Veznara> (For that matter, is it attached to an Ancestor arm or something? :O )
<AshnabisGM> Veznara - if you want to try and get the sword without others noticing, you can roll Stealth.
<AshnabisGM> It's still a bit of a distance ahead of you, bwtween the two large cypresses, so you would have to move some distance away from the others to get it, also.
<Veznara> (Huh. I'm not so good at that. I'm less concerned about all the others, though, and more about Mayiru.)
<Veznara> Jimba, let's explore...
<AshnabisGM> I mean, you would have to roll to hide it from Mayiru too...
* Jimba nods.
* Veznara will try to lead him in the correct direction.
* Jimba will follow along, looking around for anything interesting.
<AshnabisGM> Everyone who wants to poke around in the shallow water can make Perception checks to see if you find interesting things.
<Daifan> !roll 1d20+16
* Lan-werk rolls for Daifan: [ 1d20+16 ] getting [ 4 ] which, after the modifier [ 16 ] totals [ 20 ].
<Jimba> !roll 1d20+13
* Lan-werk rolls for Jimba: [ 1d20+13 ] getting [ 10 ] which, after the modifier [ 13 ] totals [ 23 ].
* Veznara will lead Jimba directly to the sword
<Daifan> (pfft but I'll fortune anyone who is close to me ;)
<Katenzhi> !roll 1d20+13
* Mayiru regards all of you with a mixture of curiosity, interest, and suspicion
* Lan-werk rolls for Katenzhi: [ 1d20+13 ] getting [ 15 ] which, after the modifier [ 13 ] totals [ 28 ].
<AshnabisGM> and Veznara, now that you are actually here, you can also make a K: History roll to try and identify what this site might have been.
<Veznara> (Yay!)
<Veznara> (If I can remember how to roll, that is. :P )
<Veznara> !roll 1d20+20
* Lan-werk rolls for Veznara: [ 1d20+20 ] getting [ 11 ] which, after the modifier [ 20 ] totals [ 31 ].
<AshnabisGM> The geography is always hard to match up to the records and old maps in the Sestapor, but you wonder whether this might have been the site of the Battle of Alughambaz. If memory serves, this was one of the great battles where the Omban armies were routed, only a year or two before the final retreat of the Empire.
<Veznara> (Are there bodies here?)
<AshnabisGM> A defeat at the hands of the locals that has lived on in legend and tales of the local people, apparently, according to Mayiru.
<AshnabisGM> Any bodies in the area must have long ago been removed by the survivors, or consumed by the swamp or its inhabitants. Maybe a few bones, but mostly even those have deteriorated.
<AshnabisGM> Those of you looking around in the waters can find the following items of interest:
<AshnabisGM> A hollowed-out ox horn wrapped in copper bands.
<AshnabisGM> A small box in the shape of a heart, into which there were once three gems inset, but now only two, a white pearl and a black pearl.
<AshnabisGM> A pair of soft leather boots, somehow preserved through the centuries in the swamp.
<AshnabisGM> A tiny gold amulet in the shape of the sun, with an open eye in the center.
<Veznara> (I'll look around for Haunts, just in case...)
<Veznara> !roll 1d20+15
* Lan-werk rolls for Veznara: [ 1d20+15 ] getting [ 8 ] which, after the modifier [ 15 ] totals [ 23 ].
* Mayiru regards you all, unimpressed, while cleaning her axes.
<AshnabisGM> You don't sense any haunts in the area.
* Katenzhi will detect magic on the items, just on the off chance.
<Katenzhi> 1d20+13
<Katenzhi> !roll 1d20+13
* Lan-werk rolls for Katenzhi: [ 1d20+13 ] getting [ 12 ] which, after the modifier [ 13 ] totals [ 25 ].
<Veznara> (So we find the sword?)
<AshnabisGM> all those items are magic, Kat - which makes sense, as they seem in good condition despite being submerged in the swampy waters. You also sense the aura of a magic item between the cypress tress.
<AshnabisGM> (trees)
<Katenzhi> Wow... I can't believe this stuff is still here after all these years.
<Daifan> magic...
<Katenzhi> Yeah,b ut with people picking over it and all
* Veznara will indicate for Jimba to take the sword once we find it...
<AshnabisGM> I'd just like to clarify if you are trying to hide the sword, or just picking it up?
<Veznara> (Just picking it up, I think. Jimba has a good claim to it, after all, having done so much of the fighting.
<AshnabisGM> it's like longsword sized, so it's a bit hard to conceal it.
<Jimba> Huh.
<AshnabisGM> Okay. Jimba, you draw from the silty lake floor what at first looks like a thick, waterlogged stick, but as you shake it off, you see that it is something much more.
<Jimba> Mayiru, didn't you say your people used to pick through here when you were kids?
<AshnabisGM> A thin blade of finest steel, concave near the guard, and with a hooked silver-inlaid hilt, emerges from the muck. It is carefully engraved and its years entombed seem to have done it not harm. You are no bladesmith but its quality is immediately evident. This is a fine example of a khazkamma, the ancient silkswords of the sentinels. Next to it is a pair of bracers, finely engraved with
<AshnabisGM> the crest of the Tertizhi family.
<Mayiru> They did, sometimes.
<Mayiru> The children, mostly. We left this place well enough alone, for the most part. There are dangers out here - as we just saw.
<Mayiru> You're going to take all these things then?
<Jimba> I don't want to presume.
<Katenzhi> I don't know if we should.
<Jimba> Though, this clearly isn't of your people.
<Jimba> But I feel your folk have first claim.
<Daifan> they won.
<Mayiru> I mean, it's of our people. We're the ones who stayed.
<Jimba> As I said, I was more, ah, intellectually curious.
<Daifan> There's a rich family who will do just about anythign for that sword - you cojld pribably get somethign from them, if you wanted to.
<Mayiru> Where do you suppose the Aummesh came from?
<Jimba> (Was the history of the site explained to us?)
<Mayiru> (no)
<Jimba> (Like, did Veznara inform us of anything, I mean.)
<Daifan> if its the one they are after, anyway
* Veznara glares at both of them
<Jimba> Oh, no, I know it's where the Aummesh came from.
<Jimba> I just mean this is Imperial make.
<Mayiru> Sure, and we're as Imperial as the rest of you, go back far enough, you'll find.
<Jimba> That's true.
<Jimba> Well then, this is yours, I suppose.
<Jimba> Though I do think I can get you a good price for it, which would be worth more than it might be to your people.
* Mayiru nods.
<Mayiru> That's right. I'm not saying you're not entitled to some compensation too.
<Mayiru> So you say this sword is worth something to someone?
<Daifan> all the fancy ones are
<Jimba> I think it would be, yeah.
<Mayiru> I'll take that, then.
<Daifan> but we did a job for a guy wh was looking for ne
<Mayiru> The rest, you can have.
<Jimba> I'd be happy to deal with them for you.
<Daifan> if its the right one - then yes
<Jimba> You're sure? All of them?
<Jimba> I don't want you to feel we're dealing in bad faith here.
<Mayiru> Sure. I'm a fair dealer, Jimba, you know that. With you, at least. And these are your crew and your kin.
* Jimba nods.
<Jimba> Thanks, Mayiru.
<Mayiru> So they're entitled to whatever you give them.
<Jimba> Shall I see what I can get you for the sword?
<Jimba> Minus a fair brokerage fee? ;)
<Mayiru> Now hold on here, I just gave you your fee with all those other things.
* Jimba grins.
<Jimba> Had to try.
* Mayiru laughs.
<Mayiru> You did. You're no fool.
<Jimba> Tell them that.
* Jimba gestures to Kat and Llillilli.
* Daifan snickers
<Veznara> What would you want for that sword, Mayiru?
<Jimba> Anyway, this turned out to be a fortuitous trip, and it's always a pleasure seeing you. I hope we didn't disrupt your 'hunting' too much.
<Mayiru> Maybe we need to get it appraised though, by someone who knows the craft.
* Jimba glances at Veznara then looks at Mayiru with interest.
* Jimba nods.
<Jimba> I can find someone, I'm sure.
<Mayiru> I'll admit, I'm nervous that the minute you take that back to Kaskind, the sentinels will claim it for their own.
<Mayiru> What do you say to that?
<Jimba> I don't disagree. Would you like to hold onto it for now?
* Mayiru nods.
<Mayiru> Yes, that would do.
<Jimba> I can try to find someone to meet with you for an appraisal.
* Mayiru nods.
<Jimba> And we can talk to the man we think will be interested.
<Mayiru> I can live with that.
<Mayiru> Right.
* Jimba looks at Veznara.
* Mayiru extends her hand to shake yours, then.
<Jimba> Fair?
<Veznara> That sword is not yours.
* Jimba shakes Mayiru's hand.
<Jimba> I disagree.
<Jimba> Her people won it.
<Mayiru> My friend and I have a compact.
<Mayiru> Thank you, Jimba.
<Jimba> It's theirs, and, thus, hers.
<Jimba> Thank you, Mayiru.
<Daifan> it isn't yours either Veznara, and they will be happy to pay to get it, so why do you care so much?
<Daifan> if it even is the right one
<Daifan> if not, some sentinel will still want it
<Jimba> I mean, it's still an ancient silk sword.
<Veznara> I do know who it *does
* belong to. It is not right to take it.
<Jimba> Yeah.
<Veznara> Mayiru, I will give you my share of what is here for the sword now, if you will accept that.
<Jimba> You don't know it's the one he was looking for.
<Veznara> If it isn't, then he won't pay anything for it.
<Daifan> someone will
<Mayiru> I don't think so. We have a deal.
<Veznara> I'm willing to take the chance, myself.
<Mayiru> That's my risk to take. I led you to the Glinting, I fought alongside you.
* Daifan nods
<Mayiru> I have made a compact with the captain of the Menagerie and he seems inclined to honor it, and as my friend, I trust him to do so.
<Jimba> And, again, her people won the sword. Only fair Dezren and his family pay the ransom for it if it's theirs and they want it back.
<Jimba> If it's not theirs, then someone else will pay for it, and Mayiru will get what they'll pay.
<Jimba> If it's the Tertizhi's sword, then they'll still get it back.
* Daifan nods
<Daifan> everyone else is in agreement
<Jimba> What's the concern here, Hand Veznara?
<Veznara> Right and wrong are not decided by a majority vote.
<Mayiru> For all you know, or anyone knows, I'm descended from the owner of this sword.
<Mayiru> And this discussion is over.
<Mayiru> Jimba, the sword, please.
* Jimba hands over the sword.
<Mayiru> Thank you, Captain.
* Jimba nods.
Solos
Jimba and Veznara speak about the return of the silksword
* Veznara goes to see Jimba very soon after the group returns to Kaskind
* Kennesaw is now known as Jimba
* Jimba is presumably working on the Menagerie.
<Veznara> (I mean, not immediately. Long enough for her to have visited someone else in the interim. :P )
* Jimba smiles and waves to Veznara.
<Jimba> Hand Veznara, fancy seeing you here.
* Veznara does not smile back, but does approach.
<Veznara> Hello, Jimba.
<Veznara> Are you going to see Dezren Tertizhi and Hegha soon?
<Veznara> I know they're eager to hear from you.
<Jimba> I was planning to, yes. Why?
<Veznara> I let them know what happened, and that they can expect to hear from you soon to arrange things.
<Jimba> That's...good, I guess?
<Jimba> I mean, I'll be seeing them soon in any case.
<Veznara> Well, please make it soon.
<Jimba> Is there a particular rush?
<Jimba> I know they want the sword, but it's been a few centuries.
<Veznara> No rush, I suppose; but I would like to see them get it back.
<Veznara> I wish we had just brought it back directly.
<Veznara> As it is, I worry that there's a chance something will happen to prevent it.
<Veznara> Maybe that isn't likely or particularly rational, but I can't help it.
<Jimba> This matters that much to you?
* Veznara sighs
<Veznara> Jimba, when I showed where the sword was, it wasn't so you could *give
* *it
* *away*.
<Jimba> It wasn't really ours to take or give.
<Veznara> But you did.
<Jimba> I let Mayiru take it. It's not quite the same.
<Jimba> Those are her people's lands. She has as much claim to the salvage as we did.
<Jimba> We wouldn't have found the place if not for her.
<Veznara> And she would not have found the sword if I hadn't pointed it out to *you*.
<Veznara> If you wanted her to benefit from it, I wish you had simply brought it back and given her the reward money.
* Jimba shrugs.
<Jimba> Still her land.
<Jimba> I mean, what does it matter? She gets the reward instead of us.
<Jimba> I'm okay with that, and you never struck me as being terribly concerned with money.
<Veznara> No, it's not the money I care about. It's that we had a chance to bring it directly back, but now there's an unnecessary delay, and a danger - however slight - that things will go wrong.
<Jimba> It's a pretty slight danger.
<Jimba> And, again, it's been two centuries.
<Veznara> Even so, there are no guarantees.
<Jimba> I think they'll just be happy to have it back.
<Jimba> There wouldn't have been even if we'd taken it.
<Jimba> Maybe we got waylaid by other pirates. Maybe we all get eaten by slurks.
<Jimba> Nothing's certain.
<Veznara> It's still an unnecessary extra step.
<Veznara> In any case: I'm sure they're eager to begin negotiations.
* Jimba nods.
<Jimba> Well, like I said, I plan to do so soon.
<Veznara> Good. Thank you.
* Jimba nods.
<Veznara> I'll leave you to your work, then.
* Jimba nods again.
<Jimba> Thank you for letting me know.
* Veznara nods
<Jimba> I promise I'll try to make the whole process as smooth as possible.
<Veznara> Thank you. These people are friends of mine; they were kind to me when I first arrived here. So it's important to me that this goes well.
* Jimba gives Veznara a strange look.
<Veznara> What?
<Jimba> I could say the same of Mayiru.
<Jimba> And Dezren seemed like a good guy.
<Jimba> I really am going to try to get a fair deal for everyone involved.
* Veznara sighs
<Veznara> I'm sure you will; but I'm afraid I just won't be able to relax until it's concluded.
<Jimba> I'll head over as soon as I finish up here.
<Veznara> Thank you.
* Veznara smiles tentatively.
* Jimba gives Veznara his most reassuring smile.
* Veznara nods, and lets him get back to his work
