Tales of Faerun

[nethgros]

Horo nodded as Rhaine walked off to tend to her horse, and followed the others as they filed out of the house and onto the boat. He went below decks and found an unoccupied area to rest: legs crossed, sitting against a wall, with one hand on his sword.

[GrueMaster]

Tak'we lagged behind the others as they boarded the boat. Accursed softskin creations! he thought angrily, before finally going on board, immediately taking a spot by the stairs leading up to the driver's spot and bracing himself for the sickness to come.

 

Dri quickly boarded, excited to be sailing once again as she stood by the main mast and waiting to go.

[AurianaValoria1]

"Good," Rhaine replied to Shalena, "Let's go."

 

Turning to Nawen, she added, "I agree. This place leaves me ill at ease."

 

The Doomguide then looked down to see Hexol tugging at her hand. When he voiced his request, Conall placed a hand on her shoulder, "My lady, if I may. I made a potion that helped Tak'we during our previous voyage. I will see what I can do about making some of the same for Azuris."

 

She nodded, "Of course, thank you. I'm sure he'll appreciate it."

 

============================

 

Iljak, Chondath. Midday. Fourteen days later.

 

The journey had been long and uneventful. With the blessings of Talos and Umberlee, their passage was free of storms and other natural disasters. Each day was brightly sunny, almost painfully so, and the winds were fair; thus, the Sea Compass flew speedily to their destination.

 

Iljak was situated on the coast of the Vilhon Reach. A nearby trade way led straight into the distant Shaar, and that would be the route the group would take in the coming days. For now, though, it was imperative that they rest and restock on supplies before continuing on horseback. It was a large city, mostly exporting fish and grains, and the scent of fresh seafood cooking could be detected in the air even before the Sea Compass docked.

 

Rhaine led Azrael by the reins down the gangplank, looking around the bustling city for signs of an inn and stables. Conall and Dagny followed close behind, the latter seemingly better since the werewolf had distributed a batch of potions amongst the more sensitive members of the group. Argyros lingered on the deck for a moment before following as well, his eyes taking in every sight with obvious curiosity.

Edited February 17, 2014 by AurianaValoria1

[Flipout6]

The ride to Chondath was uneventful. Weyland and Sybille spent most of it bored out of their skulls, with the latter spending some time simply to talk to Rhaine or help out around the ship, hoping to break the tedium. Weyland spent his time in the galley, drinking beer or eating every now and again. He tried reading to pass the time, but even on the days where he had the patience for it he had a lot of trouble actually reading anything, seeing as spending most of his childhood in a pen didn't leave much room for a proper education. Amendale helped him learn some in his spare time, but for most of the journey he was busy tutoring Annette and generally helping her improve her sorcery. They made some real progress during that time, Annette made some marked improvements in her casting and learned a few new spells. Her sister, however, was uneasy around all the pirates on the ship, and she wasn't seen anywhere without her bow, a full quiver of arrows, and both blades.

 

When they hit port in Iljak, they waited impatiently for the ship to dock so that they could hop off. Weyland looked at the town with a pronounced lack of interest, while Sybille scanned it for any sort of entertainment she could find.

 

"Say, looks like they got a pub over there." Weyland pointed to a relatively well-maintained two-story building a couple hundred feet down from the ship.

 

"Doesn't look like a dingy place, neither. Might even have a few rooms for rent. Let's get at her!" As soon as the ship docked, the two of them made right for it. Marie, Annette, and Amendale tagged along, if only because they didn't feel the need to do anything else. After a few minutes of being in the tavern, one thing became apparent.

 

They had shrimp wrapped in bacon.

 

"I'll have....five servings of that, please." Weyland grinned and laughed as Sybille ordered seven and a mug of ale.

[tokyobiohazard]

Ianthe had an excellent time aboard the ship and was loathe to say goodbye to it once the ship docked. Once she set foot on the docks, however, Ianthe was excited to keep moving on.

Aera had many of the same sentiments as Ianthe and found herself almost more excited than Ianthe to be aboard a pirate ship. She spent her days on the decks chatting with her new friends and even the pirates at times.

Arva was absolutely miserable aboard the ship. Finding himself very bored, he ended up chatting with pirates for most of the journey about the women they'd bedded. He failed to mention the... problems he was having with his wife.

When the smell of seafood cooking in stalls all over the marketplace reached Arva's and Aera's nostrils, they both perked up.

"Do they serve all kinds of fish here?!" Aera said once they got into the inn, excited, grabbing Arva by his shoulder and yanking him toward her.

"I... I guess so," Arva said, quite enamored by Aera's unintentional show of power.

"I'm going to eat every kind they serve!" She was quite excited, moreso than Ianthe, who curled up her nose at the scent of dead fish wafting through the kitchen doors.

Edited February 18, 2014 by tokyobleach

[GrueMaster]

Tak'we was grateful to finally be back on dry land, having spent a miserable fourteen days on that spirit-forsaken boat. The potions that Conall had made him had helped greatly, but constantly being on the boat still bothered him. Not saying a word to anyone, the pink thri-kreen walked past everyone and went inside the inn his clutch was going to and immediately ordered some fruit and greens to settle his appetite.

 

Dri looked at the bustling port with awe. Wanting to go exploring, she instead restrained herself and followed the others to the inn. Sitting down with the Greys, she ordered a little bit of food and waited for everyone else, curious as to what their next course of action would be.

 

=====================

 

A middle-aged man was gathering in his catch for the day when something caught his eye: there was something dark floating in the water. Probably some piece of junk cast adrift in the storm.. Curiosity soon turned to horror as he realized that it wasn't some flotsam floating by, but a man. "By the gods!"

 

Calling out to nearby bystanders, the fisherman and a few other men pulled the floating man out of the water, who was incredibly pale. "Is he dead?" one man asked. "I don't know... let me check..." Leaning in, the fisherman looked closely at the non-moving figure, but jumped back in fear when the man began muttering in a low voice. That terror only grew when he saw the fangs the man had as he spoke. "By the gods, he's a vampire or something!"

 

The group of rescuers instinctively backed away from the figure, who remained unconscious and continued muttering.

 

"...Alcinea: Born 1355; Current age: 23; Status: Chosen of Kelemvor; Number of companions lost: 7.... Weyland Grey: Born 1354; Current age: 25; Number of deaths: 1; Number of ales drunk: 1 dwarven keep... Tannin Virson: Born: 1373; Current age: unknown; Number of relationships..."

 

===================================

 

Saris was fuming silently; she had been busy and finally gotten to tracking the progress of Kalin's friends, and was angered to see they had already reached Iljak, despite the magically-induced hurricane. She had tried to reach into the Doomguide's mind, but was frustrated to find that something was shielding the half-elf. They are proving to be annoyingly resourceful...too much so... she thought, and called Zuir to her side.

 

"Zuir. Rhaine Alcinea and her companions have arrived in Iljak. There is an Ulitharid in her group." The assassin scowled at the mention of a mind-flayer. Continuing, Saris spoke on. "I need you to do whatever you can to delay them. Deal with the mind-flayer as you see fit."

 

Smiling, Zuir disappeared from sight, and Saris went back to working on the ritual. Almost done...

Edited February 18, 2014 by GrueMaster

[Deleted6317247User]

As usual, Nawen spent most of her time looking after the horses and Rhegar, but unlike last time, she occasionally joined others on the top deck but tried to stay away from the railing as further as possible. After the ship docked in Iljak and all horses were in the stables, she went to the inn and ordered a bowl soup.

 

"Am I the only one who miss camping out in the wilderness?" She asked.

 

Shalena who just entered the inn with her ship already shrunk heard Nawen's question and laughed. "Not me. I'd rather sleep in a warm bed, including the occasional company." She said as she ordered the same thing Weyland and Sybille did.

 

There was a short pause before Nawen finally said. "What company? Bed bugs? It's not occasional company, they're al-" she paused as she realized what kind of company Shalena had in mind, "oh, that's so not what I meant when I asked that." She said and looked down at her soup.

[mythicdawnmaster]

The scowl that so afflicted the regal Ulitharid as he traversed the gangplank (to surprisingly missed dry land) was all encompassing. Deep lines marred his forehead, forming dark, purple trenches in his normally supple flesh. A lack of eyebrows could not alleviate the expression, no, for Xallistine's brow sloped so low as to cover the upper whites of the opaque, solid white orbs that were his eyes. Tentacles writhed gently of their own accord, and large, pulsating veins emerged upon his mantle, throbbing in time with his enlarged cranium. Bringing delicate, bony fingers to rest flatly upon his temples, the Ulitharid began a series of slow, pressured rubs, round and around as he attempted to focus his mind and dispel the burgeoning headache that raged on beneath his fingertips.

 

Alcinea... Iljak... Delay... Delay... Mind-flayer...

 

Those words shot through him as he turned his gaze to Rhaine, eyes falling to behold the ring, Kelemvor's ring, the ring he had enchanted, as it sang to him. There was a certain connection between an enchanter and his creations, enchantments of the mind far more so. In making a ring that could stand up to his own psionic might, so his own psionic might went into the ring... and that might was fighting a battle against an outside force attempting to enter Rhaine's mind... and outside force that was apparently quite formidable. While his defences clearly outstripped the offence of whomever attempted to probe Rhaine's mind, the fact that they were trying was alarm enough; Kalin's captors were surely here.

 

Striding with his usual grace, the Ulitharid stood beside Rhaine without looking at her, and attempted to calm his nerves so as not to worry her. He leant heavily upon his cane as she surveyed the city for board.

 

"My lady, I'm going to need you remain calm so that you may focus your mind... an untoward force is attempting to battle against the defences of my ring in order to enter your mind... they are aware of our arrival I fear. I must ask you to assemble the group once we have found board in order to check that everyone is in possession of their mental wards... I'm sure... they received..." realization dawned upon the Ulitharid and his brow heightened.

 

The mental wards were still within his quarters aboard the ship...

Edited February 19, 2014 by mythicdawnmaster

[AurianaValoria1]

Rhaine steeled herself as Xallistine spoke to her. With concern in her voice, she replied, "They didn't. You should speak with Shalena and quickly, to get those out of Sea Compass and distributed amongst our companions. If what you say is happening, then we have no time to lose. Yet we mustn't alarm the others; in their panic to hide their thoughts, they may think of things they would not have otherwise. Let us proceed as normally as we possibly can."

 

Conall had taken the liberty of seeing to Rhaine's horse along with his own, allowing her to enter the inn shortly behind the others. The smell of the various foods being prepared made her stomach growl, and she waved to a waitress for a menu. After one was brought, she sat down beside Sybille and looked over the available fair, focusing on the words on the page and trying to ignore the warmth of her ring inside her gauntlet. She had put her gloves back on to prevent anyone from seeing the glow that would undoubtedly accompany the ring's defensive warding. Less questions would mean less risk of fear amongst her friends...

 

There was every type of seafood one might imagine, prepared in almost every way one could think of. She had not seen a menu this extensive outside of Waterdeep. The fare ran the gamut from seared trout to fried clams, and steamed scallops to buttered lobster. Almost every type of fish and shellfish could be cooked to order, and various cream and butter sauces could be served on the side. Hearty dark and light breads, as well as exotic fruits, rounded out the meals that weren't prepared as pies or soups.

 

As Rhaine was scanning the menu, Argyros and Dagny were looking over her shoulder - the latter standing on a bar stool. The pale elf's silvery eyes grew wide as he beheld the sheer variety of dishes, and he murmured, "Oh my...I have not seen these foods offered before. Which should I try?"

 

Dagny gestured to the bacon-wrapped shrimp that the Greys had ordered, "They seem to be liking that all right."

 

With a look of determination - and excitement - Argyros nodded, "Right then. Barkeep! I'll have what they're having."

 

The dwarf woman exchanged glances with Rhaine and leaned close, "Someone's been livin' under a rock, methinks..."

 

Rhaine elbowed her and glared, but Dagny merely let out a wheezy chuckle.

Edited February 19, 2014 by AurianaValoria1

[tokyobiohazard]

Aera walked over to Argyros and immediately blushed, realizing he was quite handsome, which she hadn't figured out while on the ship, after blurting out, "What do you want to try first?!"

A bustling woman shoved past Aera with a plate full of bacon-wrapped shrimp, and Aera decided that was what she'd try first, followed by lobster and perhaps some fried fish. Her nervousness subsided, she conveyed her ideas to Argyros and waited for him to respond on whether he thought it was a good idea.