A Tunnels and Trolls® play-by-post adventure run by khara_khang
Ocullos first goes to Brienna's store to buy as many healing potions as he can with 30 gold....
Think more like 100 gold per potion for 2d6 CON healing.
What kind of potions?
Healing, water breathing, flying, and strength boost, all 100 gold per potion. All potions have a 2 in 10 chance of not working (no refunds).
Jay hasn't got 200 gold, so he'll just go with the Protective Pentagram spell for 50gp.
Khara, I'm presuming this is okay, and that we have the time to make the exchange, so I'm marking this down on my sheet. If this isn't possible, please let us know.
You can make the exchange, but only when you're on the ship.
"Come on, Rina! Hurry up, Kazad!" hissed Shipy Sr. "It's the Sea Elves again! They may be only a few yards to the north. Best hurry!" The elder Hobbit motioned to his companions and began padding quietly to the north, through the thick jungle foliage. Slender and unassuming, but with a comical glint in his eye and a general look of agility about him, Shipy Sr. was a natural-born scholar and student of the sciences. He personally would have loved nothing more than to stop and examine some of the exotic flora and fauna of the Oberonian Jungle of the island of Shu-Tzen, but unfortunately, there were more pressing matters at hand, like staying alive.
"Aye, sure'n I'll drink to that!" quietly returned Sirina Muirogh. The girl following Shipy Sr. was strikingly beautiful, but with long brown hair that when observed closely was seen to carry a greenish tint. She unsheathed her gold-plated saber and moved behind Shipy Sr. as quietly as she could. The air was muggy, the insects were plentiful, and to her way of thought, the sooner they found this bloody temple on this accursed island, the sooner they could leave. It didn't help that most of their group had already been killed just getting on this island.
Kazad Dhubar was a large, black-skinned man with a shaved head and a very distinct style to his dress. Any observer with some knowledge of other cultures would recognize the desert Warrior not just by the color of his skin, but by his baggy white pants, his small vest, and the two-handed great-scimitar he carried at all times. Sometime before he had fallen in with Shipy Sr.'s crew, Kazad had taken a vow of silence, and as one might expect, he never told Shipy or Sirina why. Flashing a look at the two, he indicated the southward trail. Kazad turned to the north and listened. He could hear several shouts from a troupe of Elves moving along behind them, directly on their trail. Kazad then quietly turned to the north and brought up the group's rear.
Shipy's conversation with Olvarin is quick and to the point: directions to the seedy south docks and time of departure, both expected and confirmed by the Hobbit. The south docks are not exactly a place where your mother would want you to be, be you Orc or Leprechaun.
Ocullos takes his leave of the Blue Frog Tavern and crosses the street to Brienna's Supply Store, a very nice and well-stocked delver outfitter. The Hobbitess Brienna takes little time before pointing Ocullos to the sign on the wall that reads, "100 gold per healing potion," and glares defiantly as only a Hobbitess of few words can. His luck low and his gold even lower, Ocullos returns to the Blue Frog Tavern potionless to wait for the group to depart.
"I'll be there for you, Ship, <sob>, whether you accept my solemn vow of friendship <sob> or not! Boo-hoo-hoo! <sniff> <honk> Night Gail in an hour? I'll be there, just let me get a press release out...."
Shipy gives Jack a quirky smile, but he is aware that Jack has very few true friends. It is like he lived in some northern country of which no one has ever heard. Jack has always been such a drama queen, or would that be a drama king? Or Skeleton? All guys named Jack are a little bit crazy, much like the former bartender Jack, who was committed to the Khazan insane asylum. In any case, Shipy can't help but like this Jack. The Skeleton simply adds a flare [sic] to any adventure, even if no one ever knows what the hell he is talking about.
Jay will give Shipy back the paper with the best translation he was able to muster. Ditto for whatever information he was able to glean with the Detect Magic and Omni Eye spells.
Jay's Detect Magic reveals the paper is indeed magical and Omni Eye reveals even more: the paper itself is a moon map, whose content is only apparent in the moonlight. Shipy takes the paper back, thanks Jay, and puts the paper in his pocket for safekeeping.
"That's it? This is all just a grandiose treasure hunt? If that's it, I'll wish you luck and watch your boat leave the dock, but I'm sure I have more important things to occupy myself with, thanks all the same."
"Not everything I do is a grandiose treasure hunt Jay," Shipy says with an ironic smile. Before he can continue, his words are drowned out:
"Dude, you sure? Shipy may be a poor thief, but this is more than just a treasure hunt, mark my words."
And before Shipy can formerly protest the comment on his poor thieving skills, Jax and Taran are tossed out on their proverbial ears by Chereva the hot Centaur babe. Shipy is distracted as Megol waddles over and gives him a sharp tap on the back with his staff.
"When we leave to look for sword? Me want to buy stuff for journey."
"Now I guess. You coming too, Jay?"
Shipy climbs off his chair but avoids running into Chereva. He looks at her up and down as if she were a racehorse. "You're welcome to join our um, adventure, Chereva. We will depart from the south docks very soon if you're interested." Giving Chereva a slight smile, Shipy prepares to leave.
With a backroom deal having been struck with Lucky the bartender, Olvarin sets about offering his services trying to scrounge up some gold in a short while. Most of his time is spent sitting in the back room waiting.
A slightly drunk Half-Ogre is Olvarin's first customer. "This is the most miserable urine-soaked hellhole I think I have ever been in. You're the Healer?"
Lucky pops his head in the doorway. "Uh, we object to the term 'urine-soaked hellhole' when you could have said, 'peepee-soaked heckhole'."
The drunk Half-Ogre gives Lucky an indignant stare and the bartender quickly exits back to the main room.
"I am a Healer. I assure you, the cure for all those ailments and much more is within me."
"So you say. My rashes have got rashes." Axwall pours out one hundred gold coins onto the tabletop in front of Olvarin, letting the coins scatter noisily. "Now fix my rashes." His grunting tone conceals the Half-Ogre's need for a quick fix.
A spell or two later and Axwall departs much happier, but unfortunately he is Olvarin's only paying customer before it is time to go. Returning back to the bar, Olvarin gives Lucky half of the take. He quickly looks around the bar for any other adventurers who haven't left yet, but in his haste, he doesn't see the sole remaining adventurer: Jay.
He waddles over to her, gives her a swift smack with his staff and asks, "You Brienna? How many potions for, hmm... 25 gold? And it better be some!" he adds, brandishing his staff.
Brienna blinks slightly at Megol's behavior, and then scoops up the spirited little scamp, carryies him to the front door and tosses him outside on his ass without so much as a word. [Megol takes 1 hit off his CON and has a few bruises.] Brienna returns to her place behind the counter as Jax and Taran enter her supply store.
Leaving the bar with Ebony and Ocullos (with Megol dusting himself off and racing to catch up), Shipy continues on, walking down the busy street toward the south docks. It is late in the afternoon and the air is filled with the scent of saltwater and dead fish as the Hobbit talks to Ebony as they walk.
"So---Shipy, was it? How did you happen upon this quest of yours?"
"Yes," he murmurs cheerfully, confirming his name. "Funny you should ask that. I have a family member who set me upon this quest, figuratively of course, and then I did some research on the subject, and the more I delved into it, the more interesting it became. I am sure you will enjoy it if you give it the chance." Shipy glances up at her as they walk. "We do need you," he says enthusiastically, "and everyone else's help. I never said it would be easy, though. The best things never are."
The ten minute walk brings Shipy, Ebony, Ocullos and Megol near the south docks, where a group of thugs block their path.
Scared, Shipy yelps. "Aah!"
[Quickly] makes a beeline to the south docks to find the ship, alternately singing sea chanties and trying to puzzle out what that little piece of paper of Shipy's means.
Quickly concludes that the note must play some part in the impending adventure, but he doesn't know exactly what. He is the only one besides Shipy to have read it. Quickly stores this information in his brain as he zips above rooftops. He arrives at the south docks well ahead of anyone else: it is one of the fringe benefits of being a Fairy. About two dozen ships can be seen docked in this area of the harbor. It's easy for Quickly to pick out the Night Gail. Landing on some crates, he watches as a working girl and a sailor with a child in tow stop and talk for a moment.
What do you do?
[The delvers have split into subgroups:
Quickly, having located the ship, but finding himself there so far ahead of time, will listen in on the conversation of the pirate and the working girl to see if it's pertinent, then he will backtrack to see if he can head off Shipy on his way to the ship (heh). He wants to ask him more about that message, and what's so all-fired important about it that he doesn't want to talk about it, because if he wants to talk, he can, and he'll feel better if he does, so why doesn't he? He'll stow his feed bag aboard before he goes.
Think more like 100 gold per potion for 2d6 CON healing.
Still a bargain.
Healing, water breathing, flying, and strength boost....
Wasn't what Jay is looking for, and he doesn't have enough gold anyway. Too bad; it would have been useful to possess a water breathing potion or two on the sea voyage, just in case.
All potions have a 2 in 10 chance of not working (no refunds).
Caveat emptor. Of course, I'm sure Brienna will let all her friends run up a tab at the store. (Unfortunately, Jay likely isn't one of them.)
You can make the exchange, but only when you're on the ship.
Sounds good to me. Jay will pay Ocullos the 50gp for Protective Pentagram now though, since I know Ocullos wanted to go to buy supplies and might need it.
*L*
"Aye, sure'n I'll drink to that!" quietly returned Sirina Muirogh.
Stop using exclamation points if you're trying to be quiet!
The girl following Shipy Sr. was strikingly beautiful, but with long brown hair that when observed closely was seen to carry a greenish tint.
Too much chlorine in the pool?
She unsheathed her gold-plated saber....
Gold isn't a good weapon, even against noble Werewolves [a reference to Krandor of Dangerous Creations? --ed.]. Wait, unless of course you're faced with Cybermen!
It didn't help that most of their group had already been killed just getting on this island.
If only Krandor had bothered to tell them where the temple was....
...Kazad had taken a vow of silence....
Good. NPCs should be seen, not heard.
His luck low and his gold even lower, Ocullos returns to the Blue Frog Tavern potionless to wait for the group to depart.
Well, if he wants to sell Jay a second spell for the 43 and a half gold, he'd have enough to buy one potion with his starting cash plus the advance Jay gave him.
Shipy gives Jack a quirky smile, but he is aware that Jack has very few true friends. It is like he lived in some northern country of which no one has ever heard.
And even worse, he doesn't even make an appearance when people try to stop by! ;)
The Skeleton simply adds a flare [sic] to any adventure, even if no one ever knows what the hell he is talking about.
Jay is also very happy Jack is around; we might need a flare if we get shipwrecked.
"Not everything I do is a grandiose treasure hunt Jay," Shipy says with an ironic smile.
"Oh. So you just want it to sound that way.... Huh. Can't blame you. Greed motivates far too many people in these unenlightened times."
"You coming too, Jay?"
"Sigh... yes, I'll be there. Someone needs to be the voice of sarcasm, pessimism and depression."
"This is the most miserable urine-soaked hellhole I think I have ever been in."
Most urine-soaked hellholes are of much higher quality.
"Uh, we object to the term 'urine-soaked hellhole' when you could have said, 'peepee-soaked heckhole'."
Sorry.
Landing on some crates, [Quickly] watches as a working girl....
It's good to see they're cutting down on unemployment in this burg.
What do you do?
Jay is just going to stay and rest at the Tavern until it is almost time to go (he's down a STR point for casting Omniscient Eye and besides, there's a rumour going around that Lucky accidentally cracked open the good stuff....), and then meet the others at the dock. Since Olvarin is also staying at the Tavern until it is almost time to go (healing people for fun and profit), Jay'll wait for him so they can go to the docks together. If we run into the Orc brothers on the way, so much the better.
"You're welcome to join our um, adventure, Chereva. We will depart from the south docks very soon if you're interested."
Chereva lowers her (very) human torso down a bit, leaning on her oxtongue. Shipy struggles to remain conscious as she cracks a mischievous smile. "Why thank you Shipy. I thought you'd never ask your dear old delving associate. You of all should know I'm much more than your everyday Centaur bouncer with an ass that just won't quit! Did I hear you say south docks? You're leaving aboard a ship?"
Shipy's nod brings with it the memory of the last time she left aboard a ship to begin an adventure [see Goblin Lake, Part Deux --ed.]. The ship ended up sinking in the river, and she swam to the bank with Shipy, a Goblin princess and good ol' Blodwydd clinging to her back for dear life. A worried look flashes across her face.... "Are those good-for-nothing Orc brothers tagging along?"
Another nod from Shipy. Chereva suddenly has a vision of abandoning ship again, of Shipy's entourage struggling to reach her in the frothing sea, of two hefty Orcs yelling wildly as they jump overboard... onto her back....
She banishes the daymare with a hearty whinny. "Uh, Shipy dear, on second thought, I'll pass. Come back in one piece, eh?" She winks at the blushing Hobbit, lifts her torso and whips her flowing mane back in place.
The BFT's Centaur bouncer suppresses just a twinge of regret as she watches the Hobbit and his new hires leave down the street for the south docks.
...
Action, drama, and melancholy... what an emotional rollercoaster.
Forget it. That's too high a price to commit to. While I don't have any reason not to help you if needed, who can say what the future holds?
DOH!! All I wanted was a tailored shirt and maybe a pedicure.... Oh well.
You can make the exchange, but only when you're on the ship.
I'll teach Jay the spell on the ship if I have time to rest on the ship to regain my spent strength.
Don't the "special guest stars" in shows usually end up being killed off or have some major traumatic problem?
Ocullos goes with Shipy, talking with Winky as they go.
DOH!! All I wanted was a tailored shirt and maybe a pedicure.... Oh well.
Definitely not.
I'll teach Jay the spell on the ship if I have time to rest on the ship to regain my spent strength.
Fine. I still pay you now anyway as a show of good faith.
Don't the "special guest stars" in shows usually end up being killed off or have some major traumatic problem?
Jay has lots of problems, but that's neither here nor there.
Hastily, Olvarin pockets his share of the gold then dashes off, taking only a brief moment to stutter a bashful farewell to Chereva. "I think I have a bit of time left," he remarks to himself. Scuttling across the street, the Elf enters Brienna's store.
"Good evening, my good lady! I'm looking for a strength potion. Do you have any?"
"Indeed I do. 100gps," the charming [sic] Halfling replies, fetching a stoppered bottle from a shelf. [Brienna is far less agreeable and charming than weird_ollie01 portrays her, as eickeric points out later! --ed.]
"80... 90... 100," Olvarin counts aloud, depositing the funds on the counter.
What exactly does the strength potion do?
"Pleasure doing business with you," Brienna says politely [sic]. [Again, Brienna would not have said this. --ed.]
"The pleasure was mine," Olvarin responds. "Farewell!"
With that, Olvarin exits the shop and begins jogging down towards the docks to make up for lost time.
"Whew, well that takes care of that," Jack thinks, leaving the offices of the Bard's Guild. Looking for buried treasure and buckling the old swash with no one to know about it is very much like that old adage about the tree falling in the forest and nobody being there to hear it. If they aren't paying attention to you, it probably means that they are out looking to see where in that same forest the bears go to sh*t, presuming of course that bears do in fact sh*t in the forest, and presuming of course that bears do in fact sh*t. Jack has never had the opportunity to make the aquaintance of any bears and hopes he never will.
Anyway, no big deal. He left notice with the poet laureates of his plans, paid them fairly well and instructed them to hit the streets with a re-release of the "Lizardmen" saga [c.f., Lizardmen In Red Water Bay --ed.], a pirate themed promo for the Skele-Scouts Fan Club, and some preview material with a whole lot of T&A (the exact content of which he left up to them, provided that it makes him look Heroic (capital H) and is "super-skele-sexy"... sheesh!).
Bears, pirates and danger be damned. Sometimes Jack really feels like he has the world by the balls and is dragging it straight to the moon screaming falsetto and foul play all the way.
Ten minutes later (or fifteen as the crow tells time), he rounds the corner down by the south docks to spot the unmistakable form of a certain Hobbit cowering behind a taller someone or other, with a bunch of toughs staring down the BFT crew.
"Oh for the love of #@*! Already?!?"
Jack fingers the hilt of a familiar old dagger at his side and a flash of megalomania crosses his face with a flourish of sentimentality. "Just like the good ol' days!"
He waits in the shadows a few paces off to see if a timely ambush may be required. Images of squatting bears and emasculated planets run through his head. Hobbits.... Where do you suppose they sh*t? If Shipy is any kind of example, one might assume in their pants at the first whiff of trouble.
If the toughs try something fishy, Jack will charge and attack.
"Evening, boys" Ebony says, with almost a drawl. "You wouldn't stand in the way of a lady, now would you?" Her voice is sultry and sweet, but her eyes sparkle with the excitement of an imminent fight. Her fingers firmly wrap around the hilt of her sword as she continues to smile invitingly.
Ocullos smiles and takes a few steps back, then pulls out his kukri and flexes his "muscles" and says, "We'd mean no trouble to you's nice folks."
"Ragh!" Megol roars, raising his staff. He is ready to do battle when he suddenly stops and lifts Mr. Happy (his ring) to his ear. He nods his head a few times, lowers his hand and says, "Mr. Happy tells me that it would be better for us not to fight you, and that we could be friends. Will you be my friend?"
...Axwall departs much happier, but unfortunately he is Olvarin's only paying customer before it is time to go.
Hey, it's still free money....
[Olvarin] quickly looks around the bar for any other adventurers who haven't left yet, but in his haste, he doesn't see the sole remaining adventurer: Jay.
Jay is pleasantly surprised to find out he is considered an adventurer. It has an exotic, dangerous connotation to it, and he will start using it as a pickup line.
Hastily, Olvarin pockets his share of the gold then dashes off, taking only a brief moment to stutter a bashful farewell to Chereva.
Well, that being the case, Jay will presume Olvarin isn't interested in traveling to the ship together. So be it. He'll get up from the table and start walking towards the ship on his own. If he runs into the Orc brothers or any of the others along the way, great. If not, que sera sera.
"Good evening, my good lady! I'm looking for a strength potion. Do you have any?"
"Indeed I do. 100gps," the charming Halfling replies....
"Pleasure doing business with you," Brienna says politely.
While he might've had Chevera dead on, he needs a little work on Brienna. The lousy Hobbit is more blunt and hardcore than the Orcs, Fuzz, and Amroth combined. (But she's no irredeemable evil Cthulhoid monster.) [References to Goblin Lake, Part Deux --ed.]
...it probably means that they are out looking to see where in that same forest the bears go to sh*t, presuming of course that bears do in fact sh*t in the forest....
Not if they're polar bears.
At Taran's suggestion, Jax heads back to Dracon Warren with his brother to collect their stuff. On the way back, they stop by Brienna's store.
As usual, Brienna greets them coolly, with barely a nod and not so much as a heartbeat's interruption in her perpetual impassive scowl. Jax grunts in reply, thus offering his highest regards to the stalwart fighter and former fellow delver.
Not a big fan of bottled magic, Jax nevertheless ponies up the cash for a water breathing potion. Taran nearly has to twist his arm to do so, and buying the potion is the only thing Jax can do (aside from the relatively drastic) to keep Taran from going on and on about his inability to swim. Jax doesn't admit that the thought didn't occur to him, and that that fact alone---more than the possibility of drowning---scared him.
An annoying sensation in his head, best described as radio static (if you know what radio static is), subsides after his purchase. On further reflection while waiting for Taran at the door to the shop, Jax vaguely connects the feeling with the symbiotic tattoo behind his right shoulder. Did the ancient presence in the back of his mind panic on the discovery that its host suffered a potentially fatal disability?
After Taran's purchase(s), they head out of Brienna's store and catch Jay just leaving the Blue Frog in the direction of the south docks.
"Hello Jay," he says, greeting the Wizard. "Want some company?"
Brienna greets them coolly, with barely a nod and not so much as a heartbeat's interruption in her perpetual impassive scowl.
Much better.
Jax grunts in reply, thus offering his highest regards to the stalwart fighter and former fellow delver.
*L*
"Hello Jay. Want some company?"
"Might as well. Looks like we'll be traveling together anyway."
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