rolled 3, 4, 3 = 10

---

>massive armored forearm
Have Than take a good look at the beetle.
Any perceivable points to cripple the beetle as it is not ceasing hostilities?

>>726261
>overwhelming (albeit mercifully brief) hallucinations and/or compulsions, typically resulting in violent or otherwise profoundly antisocial behavior
>>728911
>can't look straight at it safely
>roll to resist gaze attack
>>729312
>take a good look at the beetle
>rolled 3, 4, 3 = 10

As Riv and the beetle-monster depart, to the south and southwest respectively, Than simply watches, and in so doing, attains an epiphanic understanding of why her target-seeking eyes have not been functioning properly on eel-ticks and their umber thralls: those un-insect abominations are from a different world. A different ecosystem. An utterly alien spark guides subtle energy through flesh by unfamiliar laws. In time, she could learn to interpret the corresponding signs of weakness, seeing their lies and hearing vital points as easily as she does to normal creatures.

Than does not feel that she has sufficient time. The knowledge is too much, a weight that will crush her unless set aside quickly. Only obvious way to do so is the cleansing ecstasy of nearby death.

Than has gained the Confused affliction, and will attack (or, in subsequent rounds, possibly take other actions) without distinction between friend and foe. Who is standing closest?

>>729379
Rixxil and/or Marijke are closest(?).
I can only pray other characters will notice or Than doesn't die somehow. Oh well.

rolled 2, 3, 2 = 7

---

>He moves to interfere
WHile Riv was looking to do the bare minimum of scuff the sand immediately at her feet to break the lines, if this is not enough, or if she was unable to finish this before Nico intervenes, then she will stare at him for a moment before scurrying away to search for a rain coat.

>I'll cast a shadow armor on Riv
If Riv had found a raincoat before this, then she will don it anyway and rush out the door; otherwise, riv freezes in her tracks for a moment before staring at Marijke and then rushing out the door wordlessly.

>I'm going to strongly advise that Riv makes sure they're not here when it gets back
>will she be running along the beach, or taking the first reasonable opportunity to climb inland?
After rushing out the door Riv will try to take cover within any nearby foliage sufficient to hide her, roughly 30 feet from the entrance. On her way out she will uncork a stink bomb and splash some on the side of the cave entrance and then throw it in a direction suitably far from her position- she is beginning to think they don't track through smell, but if there's any chance that can throw off pursuers then it's worth a bottle of rotten fish. After finding cover in the nearby leaves she will do her best to mash some of the leaves to make their scent stronger and use it to mask any lingering stink or scent she can detect. Finally she'll attempt to cover her tracks with rain and mud and such, hoping to look as inconspicuous as possible .

>>729418
>elaborate trail-covering
Granted. Which direction?

>>729401
Than's about to fire a broadhead arrow, loaded with some random magical poison, straight into Marijke's heart. Nico's Avatar of the King is coiling His wrappings in preparation to entangle Than, but this will come too late.

Will Marijke attempt to dodge, or grab Than's bow and force it out of line, or...?

>>729440
Towards the shore if that is suitably opposed to my hiding place

rolled 3, 3, 5 = 11

---

>>729440
"Mutiny already? Bein' a pirate is excitin'!"

Targeted knife throw at Than's hand.

rolled 1, 2, 4 = 7

---

I just want to say I was sorely tempted to simply execute Rixxil, thus triggering Than's convulsive response to a death, but drawing a dagger and knifing him is probably more prone to failure than anything else I could try, (given that I'm not a primary melee fighter, it would very likely have a chance to react, I'd be leaving Than free to act unopposed, and if I screwed it up, I'd be facing two combatants).

So instead, Marijke stands her ground, thrust the arm holding the jade amulet forward and cast.

"I DEMAND you give me your bow."

I'm betting on confusion and struggling with poison tanking Than's will score. And on Fool's Luck being on my side but not hers. (Making a sudden demand to someone about to shoot you seems more eligible than trying to resist mental domination).

Considering Than's bow can be dismissed and resumed from hammerspace, demand gift won't disarm her for long, but it should be long enough to prevent a fatal shot before Than is immobilized by the king, or we can get Goris to cast paralysis on her.

(I'm not sure on the order of event resolution: if Lyr disarms or overwise stops Than before Marijke can cast, I'll abort the spell).

>Assuming I'm still standing after this exchange
Marijke whirls back to Rixxil, expression angry. "Explain."

>>729446
Figuring a base skill of 10 for starting-soldier proficiency, -2 for unfamiliar weapon, -3 for seven yard range, -4 for a target the size of a hand, no time to aim for more than +1...

Llyr's thrown knife whistles through the air less than an inch from Marijke's nose. In conjunction with that comment about mutiny, it would not be unreasonable to conclude that he thinks it's everybody-stab-the-captain time.

>>729458
Pfff. To append my actions in reaction to that: before whirling on Rixxil, Llyr just earned himself a glare. When it becomes apparent he isn't suffering the same confusion / compulsion as Than and isn't pressing his attack, I'll move to demanding an explanation from the obvious suspect.

(Uh, unless Marijke can somehow tell what happened on her own. Then no need to demand answers?).

>>729452
It's over in a blink. Than's arrow passes smoothly through Marijke's amulet, producing a sharp pain in her chest, but there's no visible wound. The arrow, and bow, have simply vanished. Amulet is intact, but it's material has changed from a gleaming pale-green opacity to translucent dark yellow, with faint suggestions of movement at the center.

Than can hear someone far away, screaming. Everyone else can hear Than screaming.

>whirls back to Rixxil
Cowering, foreclaws over it's head. "Wasn't me! Wasn't me! You people just go crazy from looking at stuff sometimes, don't know why!" After a bit of hyperventilating, and awkward gestures toward Than's previous arrow, upon which Rixxil Kas's abdomen is still impaled: "Mistress, if this one were capable of commanding your archer, don't you think that might have been done sooner?"

rolled 6, 5, 5 = 16

---

>>729458
>-2 for unfamiliar weapon
It's not unfamiliar. Llyr had a bandolier of knives in his starting kit.

>>729471
>Than's weapon has been magicked away by Marijke, and Than is apparently screaming in dismay over being disarmed?
"Oh, it's over already. I guess you're not captain for nothin', hahaha."

Tackle Than and bludgeon her unconscious.

>outright stole the hammerspace bow as a knife flies by my face
Damn. That's pretty badass visual, though possibly awkward later.

>knife by my face
>aimed at Than's hand
Could we please stop trying to "help" party members with attacks that have a high chance or hurting them, whether they work or fail? Remember what happened to Nick? Don't tempt the horror setting.

>Mistress, if this one were capable of commanding your archer, don't you think that might have been done sooner?
...granted. My apologies for the outburst, my crew pointing weapons at my face *glares at Than and Llyr* puts me in poor humor.

>You people just go crazy from looking at stuff sometimes, don't know why!
Everyone please please avoid looking too closely at our hosts, it's apparently not good for your mental health. We're leaving as soon as we've secured our payoff, before anything else can go wrong.

Where is everybody, at this point? Lektra is 'bound' in the pentegram, Nico is examining it, Than is standing near Marijke and Rixxil, the King is about to restrain her, Llyr is... somewhere within knife throwing distance but probably further than the King? Did Snake and Goris return with Llyr?

>>729477
>familiarity
Llry's not new to the idea of a throwing knife. Give 'im a few hours to practice, figure out how to properly grip the thinner handles, different balance, and so on, penalty goes away.
>Tackle Than and bludgeon her unconscious
>rolled 6, 5, 5 = 16
As Llyr approaches, Than drops into a crouch, eyes wide but unfocused, hands over her ears. Without apparent conscious effort, she deflects the tackle over her head, sending Llyr into the water.

>>729494
Right, so Than is still up and cuckoo.

If the King has closed, he should probably grapple. If that doesn't adequately restrain her, I'll direct Goris to use her paralysis spell.

>>729495
Avatar's already moving in to grapple Than, I'm waiting for her player on how she's going to respond to that.

White Snake and Goris come in from the north entrance, carrying Llry's personal effects (spare clothes, a three-pronged spear, set of knives, and an S-shaped piece of jade with a hole through the center) and a scouting report about the cove.

There's something in there, under construction or major repairs, big as frigate, made out of mostly wood and rope and cloth, but no way was it ever meant to go in the water. You're familiar with the idea of a ship in a bottle? Picture such a project, half-complete. A mutilated scorpion crawls into the bottle, shrivels up and dies. The bottle is sealed and sent as a gift to the elven king of a high forested plateau, whose subjects know nothing about either scorpions or sailing. The mad king decides to devote all the resources of his realm to scientific and artistic innovation, in an effort to recreate and improve upon the vessel apparently depicted in miniature within that bottle. He supervises the project closely for decades, living on a strict diet of wine, honey, and hallucinogenic mushrooms, and somehow remaining ignorant of any body of water larger than a five gallon bucket through all that time. The resultant twisted abortion of naval architecture so offends the very gods who look upon it that they send a cataclysm to wipe out his kingdom, crushing the charred bones of the Grand Endeavor itself against a distant rocky shore, right here, maybe two weeks ago. Probably not what actually happened, but it's the first approximation that sprang to mind.

Goris's paralysis spell is already spent; she used it on the beetle at the front door.

rolled 5, 5, 1 = 11

---

>>729522
Struggle while closing her eyes. The beetle did this to her, what would the King do to her?

"So cold... So much darkness... I can't understand yet! I WON'T UNDERSTAND YET!"

Continue screaming and babbling as well. She mostly just wants to curl up and sit, but she doesn't really know what's going on right now. Everyone else's face is obscured by shadow, but Llyr looks more shark and less man to Than in his shadowy form.

By the time the umber thrall gets back with Rixxil's little iron box of valuables, Than has mostly calmed down, curled up in the fetal position, and is tangled onto the King like a backpack. She could probably tear free, but the tattered yellow silk is surprisingly comfortable, and so luxuriously soft... through closed eyes, she sees a creature traveling through a desert of silver sand, under a sky studded with black stars. It has no ears, no eyes, no arms, no legs, no head, no chest, no tail, and barely any hair, but she immediately recognizes it as herself.

In addition to the box, Administrarch Neex Hist sends it's regards, along with a humble request that you leave immediately and never return.

>>729551
First thing to do before we leave is check that the box actually contains valuables.

>Administrarch Neex Hist sends it's regards, along with a humble request that you leave immediately and never return.
I for one am perfectly fine with that. Although if they want to buy back their former colleague t this point, I'm willing to entertain offers.

Assuming they don't go for that (or if Rixxil protests, more afraid to return to them than go with us):

I'm ordering Nico to stop playing in the sand and let Lektra out already. Then we're all getting the hell out of here.

rolled 2, 1, 1 = 4

---

With the octopus already subdued, there's not really anything actively keeping Llyr from leaving the lake, so he'll swim to the edge and climb back out.

I assume this will pretty much wash the blood off his face as well.

>check that the box actually contains valuables
It's 6" square and a foot long, and weighs somewhere between 30 and 35 pounds. Marijke can tell that at least 15-20% of that weight is coins (as opposed to, say, gravel) just by the sound of it shifting and rattling inside. Two keyholes, and Rixxil Kas has a ring with nine elaborate keys, all of which are needed, in a specific sequence of combinations, to disengage the mechanism. Years of practice streamlined the procedure to a point where it usually takes less than five minutes.

>buy back their former colleague
"Thanks for the offer, but we prefer to be on the other end of the kidnapping and protection rackets and such. Maybe eventually, probably through proxies. Where will you be heading?"

>octopus already subdued
Ordered to withdraw, but not tired or hurt at all. Could be an important distinction. That being said, with a crit success Ravenous Llyr exits the ocean and returns to shore in a suitably majestic manner, well before the giant octopus makes any lecherous advances. He even manages to retrieve the second throwing knife, which he was still holding when Than's judo resulted in him abruptly shifting into a non-anthro shark.

rolled 5, 1, 1 = 7

---

If I can tell the box has ~6 pounds of coinage, that's enough to make this worth our while. It's not worth the ten minutes to check now, when we've overstayed our welcome. We can do inventory back at base when we divy the loot. We're leaving.

>"Thanks for the offer, but we prefer to be on the other end of the kidnapping and protection rackets and such. Maybe eventually, probably through proxies. Where will you be heading?"
For the moment, we have unfinished business with the local coven. Then, likely island. We'll send you a messager.

(Don't want to be too specific, in case we invite counter attack. If they're on poor terms with the coven, hopefully that keeps them from searching their territory. Rain should cover our tracks pretty well, but let's not head in a straight line to our camp).

>well before the giant octopus makes any lecherous advances
I was wondering if a shark morph would be elfinoid enough to count.

>Then, likely island
INLAND. Damn you, auto correct. I'd delete and repost to fix that, except I already rolled.

Alright. You trek back to your own cave and regroup as the storm is finally dying down. Rixxil's octopus rescues a half-drowned ogre, who seems likely to be amenable to recruitment, assuming treatment for hypothermia and some coral-related injuries is successful.

Marty the Tiny Adorable Talking Shark shows up just as you're breaking camp. "When I asked about compromising security, I was thinking you'd come back with... I dunno, a sketchy map, or a lock of hair from a guard, not eviscerate their whole front end! Favor done, and then some. Stop in any time you'd like. Anywhere along the coast, to about two hundred miles south of here, I'll be able to find you."

Where to next?

>You trek back to your own cave and regroup as the storm is finally dying down.

Is Riv included her or am I still separated? If so I'd liked to have followed them back

>>729522
>>729622
Llyr is very pleased to reacquire his belongings. Once in the cave, he'll take the time to change out of his ragged slave clothes and into his probably-also-ragged regular clothes, as well as to re-string and wear his jade.

He'll also cheerfully meet and greet with everyone new. He's probably dried off enough to revert to human form by now.

rolled 1, 4, 1 = 6

---

>grabbed an ogre and Rixxil brought the octopus
Dang are we collecting npcs at an alarming rate. (I'm going to need to make a table or something to keep track of them all). ...how did we transport the octopus, it just followed along the coast?

>assuming treatment for hypothermia and some coral-related injuries is successful.
I can dish out staunch bleeding, but assuming hypothermia requires at least a least true healing or a protection from the elements, that would have to come from one one of the acolytes.

>Where to next?
Don't we still have to wait out the remainder of the storm? The entire group is pretty big now to completely cover with shadow armors / force shields / protection from the elements?

I would ask for a reminder as to our options, and what opinions the crew has. (New members might have information about the area we didn't before).

The obvious next thing to do might be to cache in our favor with the coven, since several people have questions they might like answered.

Eswic was the one who was gung ho about the pirate charter stuff before, she should probably explain the basics to the newbies.

Marijke should examine and appraise our the loot we recovered (I'll have to wait for the next day to prepare the spell, though). Division of loot goes to the quartermaster. Don't know if Nico's player will be around to do that, but it would make sense to me that people who participated in the raid get a bigger cut than those that didn't, and Than / Lektra get a little more for volunteering to be the tip of the spear.

If there's any other lingering healing that needs doing (Ogre, Rixxil, maybe Than?) I'll delegate to the acolytes for now.

After the loot, Marijke's next interest would be investigating what the hell she did with Than's bow. (Order of investigation would probably be: apply mage sight, ask Than how she summons it, have Than try to summon it, have Marijke try to summon it, consult with Nico, acolytes, maybe Riv).

Do have have to deal with level ups?

(I just said a million thing, I don't even know which one I'm rolling for).

>>729627
>dried off enough to revert to human form
Still on the beach? Still default to sharkman. Cave might be enough to tip it over into full-human default, especially if there's a fire going. Up on the hills definitely would be.
>>729626
Yeah, Riv's there too. Even if she was running ahead with no directions, that big sail-tent on the beach is hard to miss.

>>729654
>which one I'm rolling for
I take the roll as a guideline for assessing the overall success of all your intended actions. If it'd require multiple rolls by strict GURPS rules, I'll eyeball the potential failure-points, and overall probability distribution, accordingly.

> level ups
Lessee... main thing is two umber hulks, pair of ogres and a neogi were certainly also significant... giant octopus wasn't involved as much, but it's pretty tough... no extravagant indulgences of note... let's say the new PCs (Letkra, Ravenous Llyr, and Riv) are caught up to 3rd level. Everybody else learned something, but not enough to advance.

>cash in our favor with the coven
Marty just implied they're based somewhere around a hundred miles to the south. That's probably at least a week on foot, even with good weather.

>reminder as to our options
Here's Marty's map:
>>721109
Crew consensus is leaning toward returning to civilization for resupply, and, long story short, that means following the river. You could get to the bridge in a day's march without too much trouble. From there, your shortest route to a proper bed is another day along the swampy north bank to an out-of-the way monastery. The Black Boar Inn is two days' march upstream from the bridge, but it's easier going along the south bank: a dirt road wide enough for wagons, instead of a swampy single-file footpath.

>hypothermia requires at least a least true healing or a protection from the elements
True Healing would only help with hypothermia itself if you're looking at necrotic tissue from frostbite. Marijke can hand out 'free samples' even when she doesn't have a true healing spell prepared, though, and the patient's got enough other bruises and abrasions and hypoxia and whatnot to make it worthwhile. The elemental-protection prayer prevents hypothermia from getting worse, under any otherwise remotely survivable conditions, but doesn't accelerate recovery. For actually raising core temp back up to safe levels, you'll want at least two of mundane nursing skill, a regulated heat source, and Lymphatic Auditor. Nico can dismiss the King to bring in another fire elemental, no prob, and there's no shortage of water, so all three are available, and thus the ogre's prognosis looks pretty good.

>need to make a table or something
Indeed.
>>718694
>The group is large and diverse enough that you might also want to think about chain of command.

While fiddling with keys, Rixxil Kas volunteers to interview everyone, assess relevant skills, and draw up a proper orgchart.
The box finally opens to reveal 350 gold coins, thirty 6-carat gems (bloodstones, mostly), four potions of Least True Healing, a potion of Lymphatic Auditor, and a grooming kit including various pigments for skin and hair, which would all add up to be worth approximately 275 pounds of silver. The potions represent 80 of that, so, probably emergencies-only. As a cashbox, it can safely hold some two thousand five hundred standard-size coins, neatly organized in racks and shelves and trays, along with fifty single-ounce vials, so it's only a little over 10% full at the moment. The actual lock (which occupies the entire front face of the box and underside of the lid) is a dizzying masterpiece of multilayered brass clockwork and crystalline rod-logic which might be worth over 300 pounds of silver in itself, to the right collector.

rolled 1, 3, 2 = 6

---

Might as well have Than make a table from whatever wood is left around. Shouldn't be too difficult with the small knife and her proficiency in making bare minimum.

>>729654
"You disarmed me for a while, but the bow is with me until the day I die." Is all she tells Marijke.

Riv, upon reaching the cave would like to quickly survey the surrounding area and people around- who is in the cave? what is in the cave?
Because I really only read the second thread I am actually in the dark on a lot of that so any details are appreciated

rolled 5, 2, 1 = 8

---

Okay then, heading to town where we can buy some supplies and the crew can actually spend some loot as soon as the weather permits sounds like a good plan. Oracular reward caching in comes after.

>2 day proper road to the inn
>1 day single file through a swamp to the monastery
I think I'd prefer not to snake though a swamp, thanks. Especially since I'm not even sure every member of our group would even be welcome in a monastery.

>>729671
Marijke isn't really surprised to get a cold shoulder from Than after what Marijke sees as her accidental magic weapon theft. Disappointing, but not unexpected.

Rollin for Marijke's own examination. Apply mage sight, maybe the appraisal spell. Possibly consult with others. (Nico loves weird stuff like this, and the other casters might have insight).

>>Marijke can hand out 'free samples' even when she doesn't have a true healing spell prepared
I can?! (I figured it needed to be prepared to proc)!

What's the restriction on that- only one use ever on given person? What's the full list of spells I have that are eligible for free samples?

>>729682
Looks like we're heading toward wrapping up this thread, so how about everybody poses as a team? By which I mean, textually recapitulates their appearance and other relevant qualities for ease of reference.

As for NPCs, they break down into three groups of three:
Rixxil Kas, it's mind-bondaged giant octopus, and Gunderbag the half-drowned ogre were described earlier in this same thread. The acolytes, Goris, Eswic, and Altsoba, and the kobold slaves specialized in stitching, hammering, and chemistry, are described here:
>>718024
with the main changes being that the kobolds have been encouraged to a higher degree of self-determination, and are under Sir Garaile's protection, and Acolyte Goris has become romantically entangled with Dimitry Nicola.

>>729729
>What's the restriction on that- only one use ever on given person?
One use, per customer, per day. Just like Eadric said.
>What's the full list of spells I have that are eligible for free samples?
Currently? Least True Healing and a weaksauce version of Friendship Curse.
>appraisal
It's not jade anymore. Completely different crystalline structure.
>mage sight
That's definitely the same magic weapon which you first saw at the bottom of a pit, and which Than has been using.
>Nico
Says it resembles an hourglass full of silver sand, or a bug stuck in amber, or a scrying pool focused on the lunar surface.
>other casters
The acolytes know of a type of stone that can bind ghosts and demons. Same color, but it has to be chunky and angular. A thin, rounded shape like that wouldn't work right at all.

>>729731
>textual recapitulation

"Sir" Garaile (with audible quotes) is a grim-faced soldier with a strong sense of justice and something of an ego, as well as some level of supernatural endurance and spiritual power backing it up. Tends to look down on others, but respects authority. Close ties with Marijke and Nico. Speaks with an outrageous accent and has dreams of being a famous hero. Notably wears a disgusting necklace of ears and wields an axe with a giant rat skull attached to the hilt. Has sworn an oath to protect the kobolds from any harm, until such time as they willingly waive that protection. (Possibly has a thing for kobolds, but unlikely to admit it.)

Ravenous Llyr is a brutish wereshark fisherman-turned-slave-turned-pirate. Preferred form is a grotesque shark-faced biped, but shifts to full shark when fully submerged, and sharp-toothed human when dry and away from water. Aggressive and eager to participate in any sort of violence. Not very smart and has poor social skills, but is good at hunting and living off the grid. Preferred weapons are spears, knives, and his own teeth. Longs for a lover to share a meaty carcass with.

Riv could be described by some as a "small, teenage girl", on the condition that your idea of teenage girls includes disturbing, leathery skin, and a shriveled extra set of arms. A shock of short black hair sits in stringy clumps, giving the impression that she grooms herself with nothing but a rusty bread knife and some dirt. Bandages adorn her body, some crusted onto the flesh by a pungent blue substance from what could possibly be old wounds- it's hard to tell for sure. Her second pair of arms is small and withered, and appear as though they lack the strength to do much offensively; however the small hands and thin fingers are incredibly thin and dexterous, and look like they would allow her to work on complex and delicate machinery with ease. She is seemingly always on guard, constantly scanning her surroundings and hunched down as if ready to flee or fight at any moment. Her eyes seem to drink in the surroundings, studying everything in sight, pouring over every available detail. Finally, she seems to be constantly fiddling with a small mechanical device, roughly the size of a fist, with so many complex gears and mechanisms it's hard to follow what she's even doing to it. Her paranoid and alienating behavior is all but inviting, however she seems to show deference, cower even, when addressed by Marijke.

Upon entering the cave she will approach Marijke and lower herself onto one knee, bow her head, and wait to be addressed.

>The acolytes, Goris, Eswic, and Altsoba, and the kobold slaves specialized in stitching, hammering, and chemistry, are described here:
>>718024
Hmm. That link isn't working for me when it should be. Let's try...
>>/questarch/718024

>pose as a team because we just scored a lot of money and the thread is ending
Marijke is a young human woman, with frizzy and (currently) unkempt shoulder length dark hair, and green eyes the color of her jade amulet. (Well, once-color of her formerly-jade amulet). She seems to have a mercantile background and training (a fact incongruous with her apparent financial status and class when she entered the dungeon) and rather less training in the magical arts, though her dabbling has proven rather effective lately.

Her current tattered state of dress and apparent fashion sense might favorably be described as somewhere cross between "hobo" and "hippie". A scarlet macaw, large in size and raucous in color, looms on one shoulder. A dark yellow, translucent amulet hangs from her neck, and seems to display an unusual, unsettling depth if focused on for too long. A hand not infrequently return to the coin purse hanging from her waist, when they aren't occupied in some other task, or turning over a small idol.

It is an amazing coincidence (or perhaps a divine joke) that in her shabby outfit, coupled with her parrot, framed against a beach, a chest of loot, and a ragtag crew that she very nearly looks the part of the pirate captain she fell into.

Peer deep into her eyes and you will find someone still surprised at her recent reversal of fortunes and that people are listening to her (without her making them).

>Upon entering the cave she will approach Marijke and lower herself onto one knee, bow her head, and wait to be addressed.
Speaking of which.

"Can I help you?"

Than is an elf with a slim figure, silver hair, and blue and red eyes. Normally she would wear a mask to cover her face, but has none at the moment. Everything she has is linked to where she came from. She wears ranger clothes that were usually well kept, but after all the incidents should be tattered and in need of new clothing now.

The bow and allowing her to be incapacitated is linked to the incident that left remnants of an eternal life ritual that backfired letting her absorb traces of life and death magic while she took down her former family, friends, and others.

She has a different view on the world in other words people see her as crazy and poor social skills due to long isolation throughout her travels, not to mention being accompanied by undead that were reanimated but still themselves when they were alive in front of other adventurers/travelers as well before meeting the group. She is not afraid of death after seeing so much of it, and is willing to take in her eyes a best case scenario, even if it could potentially kill her or others. It doesn't mean she's a masochist or sadist of any kind though.

She trusts Marijke the most at the moment due to her healing, Lektra a little since she's also different, Snake because she was with her during their escape, and the rest are middle ground. She'll follow orders but not strictly, which may be trouble in an actual negotiation.

Since the thread is ending, and i'm too lazy, Than does like reading as well. She likes reading a lot. Books were her only friend while hunting the undead.

Thanks for the working link! I think the older thread got archived or something which means we keep having problems bringing it up

Riv stays on one knee, looking straight ahead rather than making eye contact- whether this is a form of anti-social behavior, an act of deference, or some other cryptic message hidden in her body language is hard to tell.
my rash and foolish behavior greatly complicated your recent effort to infiltrate the compound. My services are all I can offer in repayment for traynsgressions, but you have full command of my abilities. I will do my best to repay my debt to you in full however you see fit. What would you ask of me?

>>729916
Marijke is a little taken aback at what is probably the most formal request to join to date (heck, more than half us didn't ask), and at the apology for a slight that has been largely forgotten since inventorying our haul.

"Uh, apology accepted, and welcome to the crew. Rise."

>>730068
Riv too is shocked at this response and freezes up for a moment before collecting herself and rising- eyes still divorced towards the ground even though her short statue would make it easy to avoid eye contact in other ways. She stays in this position, and awaits further instruction.

others are welcome to join in on this as well- it's happening in the middle of the cave and is not ment to be a closed off or secretive discussion- Riv is simply only directly addressing Marijke at this point

Reviewing the timeline:
day 0: game starts, underground hilarity
night 0: goblin outpost, attempted sacrifice
day 1: reached surface at dawn, cliffside berries, thunderstorm
night 1: sleep in cave
day 2: Than finds broken-off topsail, adds front porch to cave, doubling available shelter space
night 2: cave sterilized by fire as prep for Nico's tongue surgery
day 3: winds escalate to gale-force
night 3: meeting with Marty
day 4: raid on shipwreck cove
night 4: recovery from raid, integration of freed slaves and captured slaver-bug into crew

It's now morning on day 5. Still drizzling rain, a little bit windy, and notably colder, but that means the worst of the storm is over. Are you going to wait for tomorrow, when it'll be calm and overcast? Or set out immediately, hoping to make it through these seaside hills to the main north-south road while bloodsucking striges and sheep-sized dire bees remain in their nests?

Garaile's diligently counted and repackaged the food, so, before deducting breakfast, you've got exactly 700 individually-wrapped meals, mostly goblin shroom-starch, plus two jars of mystery meat. Six PCs and three acolytes need three meals per day each to stay battle-ready, and a little extra tends to improve morale. Letkra's got a separate supply of oil. Rixxil Kas's octopus can take care of herself, given access to a body of water with a healthy population of fish. Rixxil seems to have some tricky internal injuries, and is unable or unwilling to choke down trail rations. So, with reasonable rations but no significant supplementary foraging, food will run out in three, maybe three and a half weeks. Or, it would, except that Gunderbag the ogre thinks mushroom-bread is the most delicious thing he's ever tasted, and will eagerly gobble down more of it than the rest of the group put together. You're only three days out from the nearest inn, though, so that should be fine. Good news is, having an ogre along means you can easily bring along the sail and chunk of mast as a crude umbrella.

rolled 4, 5, 2 = 11

---

>Or set out immediately, hoping to make it through these seaside hills to the main north-south road while bloodsucking striges and sheep-sized dire bees remain in their nests?
That seems prudent, honestly.

>Rixxil Kas's octopus can take care of herself, given access to a body of water with a healthy population of fish
I'm not sure how we'd transport the octopus at all without a body of water. We have the river for now, but we're not gonna follow it forever.

>Good news is, having an ogre along means you can easily bring along the sail and chunk of mast as a crude umbrella.
Seems worth it.

>Thanks for the working link! I think the older thread got archived or something which means we keep having problems bringing it up
Yes. There's supposed to be automatic redirects between /quest/, /graveyard/ and /questarch/, but sometimes they don't work.

>spells for the day
0: staunch bleeding, gum-fire, bestow fool's luck, experimental miscellany
1: least true healing, bite-the-pinecone curse, bestow shadow armor
2: demand gift, spit spiders

For travel actions over the day, I'll spam some fool's luck around, do some humish lessons with Eadric (the maccaw), chat with crewmates, examine the amulet further with miscellany.

rolled 1, 6, 4 = 11

---

>Pose as a team / describe self
Letkra is a tall elvenoid-seeming woman, around 6'. However, her physical features appear unnatural; simplified, and composed of a smooth simplistic material. Her eyes are very large and glassy, her ears stick out too far, and she has no nose. Her hands look more like gloves and her feet look more like socks. The most likely explanation that would occur to most people is that she's some sort of golem made to resemble an elf. She has pale skin, brown hair, toned abdominal muscles, and wears some sort of metal bikini that doesn't look like effective armor. She carries a telescoping metal glaive with a tip that can change into many different things, and controls a transparent roughly-circular (adjustable to an oval) force shield that can expand, but at the cost of being moved more slowly.

She has very strange ideas about how things work, possibly because she claims she's from another world, but she takes her role as an adventurer very seriously, trying to explore, defend others, and contribute in combat. She also works to be kind and helpful, and is starting to get weirded out by the social dynamics she's seeing in this world. She very badly wants to return to her own world, and has no very little idea how to actually do that, so she's trying to help out and work together with the most reasonable-seeming group of adventurers she's found so far.

> Rixxil Kas volunteers to interview everyone, assess relevant skills, and draw up a proper orgchart.
Sounds perfectly legit to Letkra (in her eyes it's one of the sanest things anyone's suggested all day!). She will cooperate fully if this occurs, or if he asks her directly.

She also still seems to think Rixxil Kas is some sort of Merchant, and asks what pronouns they'd prefer to be addressed by.

(Roll for diplomacy, maybe?)

(Also, is Rixxil Kas medically stable? There was that impaling and all. If it looks like they're dying she's gonna point that out and suggest Marijke cast "the Spell of Heal")

> Riv joins the party, possibly also an ogre and an octopus and stuff
"Hooray!"

As far as what to do next, Letkra's very much in favor of heading to town soon. She specifically thinks going to an Inn is important for some reason, also.

She's going to spend some of the intermittent downtime in power save mode, too, slumping over limply in the corner in a sitting position.

> Riv joins the party, possibly also an ogre and an octopus and stuff
Nodding is her only reply.
"So, to the inn we go?" while looking around at whatever anyone is doing.

Alright, around lunchtime you come across a group of maybe 15-20 guys, camped out on a hilltop. They've got a fire lit, so you saw them before they saw you. Easy enough to circle around and avoid.

Assuming you do so, no more trouble until you're just about to take the ferry across a little tributary river to the Black Boar Inn. You meet a law-enforcement patrol, coming the other way. Three on horseback, with chainmail, longswords, and Surgis County heraldry. Eight on foot, with bronze-reinforced buff jackets, longspears, and light hunting crossbows. Lots of pointed questions, mainly on the subject of the ogre and the eel-tick. Eswic, Altsoba, and Goris have concealed their Orcusite paraphernalia, but couldn't pass a thorough search.

Fast-talk? Bribe? Two gold coins would be a reasonable day's pay for a patrol such as this. A fight might be winnable, but definitely not quickly and quietly enough to avoid folks at the inn noticing. Magic? Rixxil can attempt the mind bondage thing three times a day, and the footmen seem to follow orders from knights without much question, so you could try subverting the leadership that way.

>>730583
>is Rixxil Kas medically stable?
Answer hazy, ask a trained xenobiologist.
> pronouns
It/It's
>Heal
Yep, that's a spell which exists. Fixes just about everything that can be fixed, all at once, no muss no fuss. Unfortunately, it's sixth circle, far beyond anyone around here.

Riv would suggest bribery- easy, fast, and not too much off the our bottom line.

rolled 3, 5, 4 = 12

---

>assuming you circle around
Avoiding an unnecessary engagement with a group roughly the size of our own seems reasonable, yes.

>Fast-talk? Bribe? Magic?
I'd say let Nico be charming while Marijke slips them a few gold along with the weakened free sample version of the friendship curse to make them better inclined to be friendly to us.

(And from here we pick up in the next thread I suppose, since that's up and we've already reached the inn there).

>>730647
Nico manages to convince the patrol that Rixxil Kas is not actually a living creature at all, but rather, a prop for an elaborate ventriloquism act. You're four gold poorer and will be held responsible for any damages the ogre causes, but otherwise allowed to pass.