Tsura continues to flail about, gripping Tun'ada for dear life. Her eyes and hand glow for a brief moment, as Tun'ada is surrounding by a brief shimmering glow of yellow light.
Round Four (REVISED)
With all of his companions beyond the range of his spells, Ambroze withdraws his loaded crossbow from his magical haversack and aims at the giant crabs in the shallows below.
With Willow in deep trouble, Marcus shifts attention from the wounded crab desperately trying to draw the attention of the druidess' grappler.
Falcata (bless, power attack)
Marcus struggled through the water to help Willow and the crab took the opportunity to bash his armour with a carapaced pincer once again. He moved up to the other crab and hacked his blade through the constricting menace, badly wounding it.
Between the punishment Marcus had dealt and the strange, tiny localised storm it had been subjected to, the crabs survival instinct kicked in. It released Willow and withdrew into deeper water. The other crab continued to relentlessly assault Marcus but in truth, didn't seem to distinguish his breastplate from his flesh. The vermin failed to penetrate the enchanted piece of armour and, wounded as well, the crab slunk away into deeper water after making the assault.
"Thank you, Marcus." Willow gives a quick smile before attempting to blast the retreating crab with her minature torrents of weather.
ranged touch:
non-leathal damage:
While I'm all for giant crab meat lets get Tsura and get to shore before another wave hits!
Chi takes the rope and throws one end towards Tun'ada and Tsura, expecting it might not quite reach. "Here take this if you can! Get in closer to us and let us pull Tsura to safety." she cries above the sounds of the crashing waves.
Willow harassed one of the crabs with her torrent of weather and it disappeared under the waves as it seemed utterly exhausted, wounded and bruised. Chi threw a rope out, which extended about thirty feet from the ledge, moved and shook constantly by the waves.
Tsura is obviously not a swimming sort of person.
Swim
Another great wave of some seven feet crashed over those still in the water while Ambroze and Chi watched from their ledge. After the wave had crashed over the group and the water had become merely rough once more, Willow was nowhere to be seen. Marcus had stubbornly dug in his feet once more and held his ground and while Tsura was dragged further out to sea with Tun'ada holding onto her, the tribesman had been able to tread water and not be dragged under.
One small mercy, however, was that this wave brought with it no more oversized crabs. The small band now only struggled against the elements...
Marcus-
Willow-
Tsura-
Tun'ada-
Round 5-
Ordered Initiative-
Tun'ada- 21
Ambroze- 21
Marcus- 16
Willow- 13
Tsura- 12
Chi- 6
Current- 5
Active Effects-
Tsura and Willow have the "Hidden Under The Water After A Ferocious Wave In Rough Waters" condition. I will require Perception checks as a move action at DC17 to successfully locate them if you choose to (please apply distance penalties yourself, i'm keeping their squares on the map)- i'm happy for these checks to be combined with drawing a piece of equipment in a manner similar to drawing a weapon while moving though.
Even if someone points out the square one of them is in, you won't be able to see them until you make the check yourself (although if for example Marcus is told which square Willow is in, he can grope around in the water for her with a 50% chance of laying a hand on her). Doesn't prohibit you from throwing a rope to that square or targeting a spell there though, for example.
[b]Map-
Notes-
Blue circle denotes prone, yellow triangle denotes asleep. Small red circle denotes an active grapple.
Any square adjacent to the cliff- no longer difficult terrain.
Shallow water is light blue- difficult terrain for anything without a swim speed.
Deep water is darker blue- rough water and needs a DC15 Swim check as per the swim rules to move (see the Swim skill)
Action-
Scroll up to Round 1 and look for the spoiler with Tsura's name on it- same applies to you. May want to hold off from posting until Marcus has done so as if your lucky, you'll be fished out.
Tsura continues to flounder, despite the help from Tun'ada. Swim
swim:
Willow swims about as wel as she can deliver a compliment as she is being thrown back and forth in the waves.
Tun'ada tries again to pull Tsura up above the waves, this time easily getting the woman above the surface.
Strength:
With Tsura above water, the tribesman begins to fight the tide, to return to shore.
Swim: (minus whatever penalty applies for dragging Tsura along)
Perception
Gods damnit where is she!?
Seeing the druid go under and Marcus looking around lost, Chi decides to try and help them both. She passes the rope to Ambroze, "Hold this to help the others climb up, I'll go and help Marcus, it seems he's lost Willow." With her arms out wide, flapping in the wind to keep balance, she jumps off the ledge, down onto the sea covered rocks below.
Round Five:
Ambroze shifts to his right as he tries to get a better view of Marcus and Willow.
"MARCUS! SHE'S RIGHT NEXT TO YOU! TO THE SOUTHWEST!" Ambroze calls to Marcus.
Successful strength check
1-50 miss
Marcus managed to find Willow with Chi's directions, and both he, the druidess, Tsura and Tun'ada all climbed the rope up to safety just before another wave hit. The group were sat and stood on the rock ledge. A small, steep and well hidden trail appeared to lead up the cliff and a conche seashell horn was fixed onto the ledge itself- supposedly, supplicants were to blow this horn to summon the Tempest.
Chi passes the conche to Ambroze, "Ambroze, would you do the honors?"
"Certainly," Ambroze replies, stepping up to the conche shell.
"If everyone's ready?" he glances at the group, and then blows the horn as loudly as he can.
Tsura draws in breath in ragged gasps as she flops onto the good earth. "Oh... good gods... I will... never... go swimming... again!" After recovering, she warily takes her place with the group as they blow on the horn.
A few minutes passed as the group waited upon the small ledge. The waves crashed menacingly behind them, some even coming within a few feet of the lip; but never quite reaching it.
High upon a narrow ledge a good seventy feet above you, a dark-skinned man appeared, illuminated in the evening moonlight. Dressed in nothing but a loincloth, his wild, knotted hair whipped about in the wind. A small wooden shield was strapped to his arm and a trident pointed down at you in a judgemental fashion. Shouting above the crashing surf, he called down Who are you and for what purpose do you seek me?
Tun'ada yells back up at the man he assumes to be The Tempest, as he gestures for the gift brought to be shown.
Diplomacy: (plus any modifiers for being Mwangi and the gift)
Marcus watches the man but waits for his more diplomatic companions to respond.
'broze?
Chi nudges Tsura, "The statue?"
Willow catches her breath and looks to the group.
"I was never much of a swimmer." she muttered before making her way up out of the water. Willow looks at up at the man once everyone gets back to the surface and sees this man standing there with a trident and is at a loss as to what to say.
"OH MIGHTY TEMPEST, MOST HOLY SERVANT OF THE WIND AND THE WAVES!" Ambroze calls out in the Common tongue to the holy man high above. "MY NAME IS AMBROZE, AND MY COMPANIONS ARE TUN'ADA, CHI, MARCUS, WILLOW, AND TSURA," Ambroze indicates each of his companions as he introduces them.
"AS TUN'ADA STATED, WE HAVE DISCOVERED THE LOCATION OF LOST TAZION, WHICH WE HAVE ALSO LEARNED HOLDS THE SECRET TO THE LOCATION OF SAVENTH-YHI. UNFORTUNATELY AN ANCIENT EVIL - THE SERPENTFOLK OF OLD - ARE ON THE RISE AND SEEKING SAVENTH-YHI AS WELL. WE RECENTLY FOUGHT AND DEFEATED ONE OF THEIR PRIESTESSES AND LEARNED THAT THEY SEEK SAVENTH-YHI IN ORDER TO FIND THEIR OWN LOST CITY OF ILMUREA, WHERE THE AZLANTI HERO SAVITH DEFEATED THE SERPENTFOLK GOD YDERSIUS. WE SEEK TO THWART WHATEVER THE SERPENTFOLK PLAN, AND HAVE JOINED WITH THE PATHFINDER SOCIETY TO MOUNT AN EXPEDITION TO TAZION AND SAVENTH-YHI. WE COME BEFORE YOU TODAY HUMBLY SEEKING YOUR WISDOM AND GUIDANCE TO REQUEST YOUR AID IN OUR ENDEAVOR. AS A SIGN OF OUR RESPECT, WE OFFER YOU THIS GIFT," Ambroze announces, motioning for his companions to reveal the carefully crafted driftwood sculpture of Gozreh's male aspect.
Knowledge (religion)
Diplomacy
Tsura smiles and holds the stature aloft. "We hail you, Wisdom of The Wind and the Waves. We seek your guidance, and hope that this token of our esteem expresses our respect and deference to your superior knowledge and experience." She takes a knee and holds the statue up with both arms outstretched.
The Tempest looked down upon the six petitioners and was silent for some time. Eventually, he shouted back-
. With his shouted guidance, the group successfully ascended the narrow trail, and they stepped over cunningly hidden trip wire alarms connected to nets full of oyster shells (they would have made an impressive amount of noise rattling down the cliff) and deadly stake traps coated with some kind of poison. After they tackled the difficult and steep trail, the group faced a sheer rock face of thirty feet underneath the ledge on which the Tempest stood. He tied off a rope to a sturdy section of rock and lowered it for them to climb. Once the group had reached the top, they could see that a small cave led into the cliff itself; it seemed to be the Tempest's dwelling. The dark-skinned Mwangi snatched the gift from Tsura's hands and muttered his approval. Nkechi was a middle-aged Zenj man, still agile and muscular of form but his body bore creases, his skin was rough and ashen from wind and sea salt and his palms and feet were caked with white chalk, evidently from scaling the cliff face. He sported long, graying dreadlocks and a scraggly beard and was dressed in little more than a loincloth.
The disdain on his expression that he directed at everyone except Tun'ada was plain to see. He answered the petition, having listened carefully to Ambroze, Tun'ada and Tsura.
Perhaps Gozreh does will me to leave this place and aid you. The death of my crabs at your hands, though it grieved me, may have been a sign that my time here is at an end. However, in truth, I am sceptical of your abilities- especially you, pale ones he said scornfully, his weathered hand point at everyone except Tun'ada in disdain.
At best you seem to me blissful incompetents. I doubt you even capable of finding your way back to town, much less through the jungle. But Gozreh may have different ideas, and it may serve his purpose for me to accompany you. I am willing to accept your proposal if you first prove yourselves by completing two simple tests, one of wind and one of water. Of course, you may decline, but I must add that if you fear performing Gozreh’s simple tasks, there is no way you will survive the jungle.
The Tempest looked down on the group despite his small stature and awaited their answer.
Marcus looks a bit put out by 'incompetents' but keeps his tone neutral.
We're able to handle ourselves but only a fool would agree to perform a task without knowing what it is. Will you name them please?
Tsura gives a soft sigh, but then puts a smile on her face. "We realize that you place yourself in peril by choosing to accompany us. It is only natural to wish to gauge our abilities. What is the first challenge?"
Chi's eyes narrow showing the resentment burning in her heart at the holy man's words. Her head turns to look at the reaction of her friends, who seem to be controlling any emotions behind their masks of indifference and flat voices. In all the changes in her life, she is reminded of her family in captivity. When her parents taught her to hold her tongue and feelings, for a slave to live, deception of their true selves is required and in its place servitude with love becomes the mask. She fights to control her inner seething and annoyance with the pompous druid. She looks away from the man, in case he sees her turmoil and combs her windswept dark hair, pulling at the strands to tidy her appearance.
In a deeper quavering voice, she adds "Old man, we shall pass your tests." almost spitting the words out.
The Tempest's eyes lit up in amusement at the forced smiles and neutral tones.
The challenge of water is hardly difficult. Mostly, it is a test of patience and fortitude. Gozreh requires that you retrieve for him a single black pearl. Head north a bit, out by the crags of the cape. Those shores are filled with oyster beds, and such pearls are not uncommon to those who know where to look. I suspect if I asked you to climb up, you'd only fall to your deaths. Perhaps I am too kind to you, but I will make your passage easier.
The Tempest scrambled up the remainder of the sheer cliff with ease and lowered a rope, cunningly dyed to be almost indistinguishable against the cliff face itself.
Now go! he hissed. If you must rest first, do so away from my home.
Willow shrugs at the mention of the crabs.
"Not all the crabs are dead. I knocked mine out." she states as if it were any difference and she rolls her eyes at his mention of commiting tests before he decides to help the group. "If we must do your silly little tests, fine but we are pressed for time." she taps her foot somewhat impatiently, clearly not fond of the idea of doing some tests for this crazy hermit.
the Tempest spat incredulously. You ask me to up-heave myself for your journey and you mock my attempt to divine Gozreh's will in this matter?
Nkechi's fist was clenched and it turned into hard oak as his anger was roused. He looked ready to hurl Willow from the cliff in his fury.
Tsura turns her head left and right to her companions. "I am ready. Anyone need more time?"
Lets be about it then.
C'mon Willow.
Lets be about it then.
C'mon Willow.
"If we rest I can prepare spells to help us in our search. I have unfortunately not prepared any to help with swimming or diving and searching for pearls." she states, not wanting to anger the old coot anymore. "I don't want to be swept away into the tide again, if I can help it."
"It makes little difference to me, we can press on or we can rest. Though it does sound as if rest would be beneficial."
Either way, your path lies upwards. Begone! The Tempest gestured to the rope with a scowl and nary so much as a farewell as he walked back into his sea cave