"Good," replied Matrim, "We depart within the hour. Now if you'll excuse me I have some charts I need to look at."
He brought his right hand to the tip of his hat and gave a small nod to the three before moving to the back of the ship where his quarters lie.
-----
By the time the last of the supplies were loaded onto the Setting Star the weather had changed from a miserable cloudy evening to a miserable ice cold raining night. The sailors were grumpy as the captain ordered them to take the ship out as he would have no delays. In the captain's eyes time was of the essence.
And so the group departed from Estark's harbor out onto the open ocean. By the next morning the ship had moved away from the dreary weather of the harbor to a crisp sunny day with strong winds. The change in weather helped to lighten the mood among the crew who were still keeping there distance from the magi.
For five days the crew continued to keep to themselves. By the sixth however things had changed as a buzz filled the ship's mood. The entire crew could tell they were nearing their destination and had decided to cut loose before they would have to get serious in the next day. Thus the captain allowed his crew to break out the wine and ale.
With the flow of alcohol came the loss of all inhibitions and concerns among the crew who happily celebrated with any of the magi who joined them. By the end of the sixth day there were more than half of the crew with headaches that were determined to spend all of the seventh morning asleep.
On the seventh dawn came a loud yell, "Land!"
This caused a slightly sluggish response among the crew as there were several groans. This was soon followed by Matrim yelling to the magi, "Kronal! Thelas! Rythos! Get up here now!"
Kronal awoke just before the captain's yell to one of the sailors throwing up just above decks. He grimaced at seeing a pillar of yellow-green bile through the porthole, but took satisfaction in knowing that his vow against drink had prevented him from becoming part of the communal hangover. He had just finished dressing when he heard the captain's yell.
He checked the straps of his knife's sheathe and hoisted his satchel over his arm, again checking to ensure that he wouldn't get into too much trouble in case of a fight. He strode upstairs, skipping every other step, and wove around the collapsed form of a sailor who had drunk too much too late last night. As he reached the deck, he pulled off a crisp salute and glanced at the captain, then turned his attention to the presumably sighted land.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Microsoft's latest update for Gleemax was buggy, and resulted in multicolor in every block since Lorwyn.
Kronal finds the captain standing at the railing looking through a spying glass. Following the captain's gaze Kronal could see a small speck on the horizon that must be the sighted land.
A groan from a nearby sailor caught the captain's attention causing him to look in Kronal's direction. Matrim offered Kronal his spyglass saying, "Take a look..."
Bringing the spyglass up to his eye, Kronal saw the speck of land leap into focus revealing a mountain range masked in in smoke with a red hue. At this distance it was hard to make out the tips of the mountains but he was fairly sure they were shaped like the skulls of some sort of beast. Sweeping the spyglass across the range he could find no feasible area for the ship to set anchor nearby.
As Kronal lowers the spyglass to contemplate what he had seen, Matrim asked, "I couldn't find anywhere on the southern portion to set anchor to send a smaller boat in. That's going to leave us with two options: sail to the west or east to find another place to set anchor. Where are those other two magi...?"
Rythos, who had refused to go below decks with the other magi for this trip, and instead spent his time on the main deck, staying out of the way of the crew and everyone. He was training his body the entire time, mostly training it to handle the open seas.
On the seventh day, it was during his morning workout that he heard the captain's shout. He stood up and made sure his satchel and dagger were easily at hand and he went. He arrived just after Kronal, and he heard everything that had transpired, though no one had noticed his arrival at first. When he spoke from right behind Kronal and the captain, he expected to startle them, though he was not concerned with that.
"Rythos think that those mountains look dangerous." he said quietly. "Maybe this job become harder than first thought."
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Name: Rythos
Age: 23
Gender: Male
Height: 6’7”
Weight: 342 lbs
Appearance: Rythos has muscles in places most people don’t even have places. His dark hair is long and unkempt. His deep blue eyes seem to hold secrets few can fathom. He wears crude clothes made of the skin of a Craw Wurm. He also carries a crude dagger made from the bone of the same Wurm. He accented his armor with other bits of the bone, and his satchel is made from the stomach of the great beast.
The blue mage is up after a reasonably short delay, though you see he did at least stop for long enough to pick up his other bag.
Greeting the captain, he waited to first allow the others to state their opinions before he made his suggestion.
The dervish scratched at his beard and shrugged noncommittally. He gestured at the water and the crag to indicate that his experience was not with naval tactics. "Perhaps it would be best, methinks, to send a scout ship to circle around the island. We need more information before we can act."
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Microsoft's latest update for Gleemax was buggy, and resulted in multicolor in every block since Lorwyn.
Rythos looked at the mountains, and he still did not like what he saw. Looking around to see Thelas had arrived, he then listened to Kronal's suggestion. More knowledge. Once again this was NOT how he liked things to be, but maybe he could satisfy their thirst for knowledge as well as not being stuck there waiting.
"Rythos volunteer to go with scouts to protect. This way you get knowledge, and Rythos not stuck here waiting" he said.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Name: Rythos
Age: 23
Gender: Male
Height: 6’7”
Weight: 342 lbs
Appearance: Rythos has muscles in places most people don’t even have places. His dark hair is long and unkempt. His deep blue eyes seem to hold secrets few can fathom. He wears crude clothes made of the skin of a Craw Wurm. He also carries a crude dagger made from the bone of the same Wurm. He accented his armor with other bits of the bone, and his satchel is made from the stomach of the great beast.
Kronal frowned, and opened his right palm to indicate that what he said was not meant to give offense. He stated simply, "It's dangerous to divide meager forces. We 3 magi are, I presume," as he turned to address the captain, "the only spellcasters on the ship. If one of us were lost, it would greatly weaken our triad. Courage is to be applauded, but spending lives recklessly is not."
Rythos realized he was correct, but he hated just waiting around. "Rythos not like idea of waiting around, but Kronal right. Job more important than Rythos. Rythos must do what is needed"
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Name: Rythos
Age: 23
Gender: Male
Height: 6’7”
Weight: 342 lbs
Appearance: Rythos has muscles in places most people don’t even have places. His dark hair is long and unkempt. His deep blue eyes seem to hold secrets few can fathom. He wears crude clothes made of the skin of a Craw Wurm. He also carries a crude dagger made from the bone of the same Wurm. He accented his armor with other bits of the bone, and his satchel is made from the stomach of the great beast.
Kronal acknowledged Rythos' reply with a nod, then peered again at the island.
He creased his forehead in thought for a moment, then swiveled suddenly to face the captain. Kronal inquired, "Do you have a chart? If not, how did you navigate here?"
Local weather has been playing havoc with the power and internet here in Texas.
"We have charts indicating the land here but nothing useful for navigation once you head into the center of the land. First observations indicated a flattening of the land the further north we go, though there is little indication of the terrain other than a potential chain of smaller islands to the north east. Oh and you may think that small speck of land ahead is just an island but I can assure you that land there is just under the size of Kush from our first reports." commented the Captain.
How do these reports know the size of the land? It seems to me there would be much more useful information from these expeditions if we're already able to determine that much.
Rythos looked at the blue mage and gave a small laugh. "Obviously your respect for nature leaves you with these questions. It is obvious to me that the land is dangerous and no information could be collected." he said, trying to get his English right for the blue mage so he wouldn't complain about the crude speech.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Name: Rythos
Age: 23
Gender: Male
Height: 6’7”
Weight: 342 lbs
Appearance: Rythos has muscles in places most people don’t even have places. His dark hair is long and unkempt. His deep blue eyes seem to hold secrets few can fathom. He wears crude clothes made of the skin of a Craw Wurm. He also carries a crude dagger made from the bone of the same Wurm. He accented his armor with other bits of the bone, and his satchel is made from the stomach of the great beast.
Kronal thumbed his left ear absentmindedly, then sighed. "There's nothing for it. Either we three visit the landmass, or we send a scout ship to do so. I personally recommend the scout ship."
OOC: To separate my personal feelings from my character's, I want nothing more than to jump head-first into trouble. However, Kronal is an ex-lieutenant, which gives him a certain healthy respect for impulsive decisions.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Microsoft's latest update for Gleemax was buggy, and resulted in multicolor in every block since Lorwyn.
I am also in favour of a scout ship, myself. And Rythos - the only way we could know the size of the area, to my knowledge, would be a circumnavigation, the chart of which might prove quite useful.
Rythos had nothing to say, he just watched and waited.
OOC: I wasn't home this weekend...had limited net access. However, I am here now...
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Name: Rythos
Age: 23
Gender: Male
Height: 6’7”
Weight: 342 lbs
Appearance: Rythos has muscles in places most people don’t even have places. His dark hair is long and unkempt. His deep blue eyes seem to hold secrets few can fathom. He wears crude clothes made of the skin of a Craw Wurm. He also carries a crude dagger made from the bone of the same Wurm. He accented his armor with other bits of the bone, and his satchel is made from the stomach of the great beast.
I'm around guys. Just so you three know I am working on a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics with a minor in teaching at the high school level. This means I have a lot of homework to do throughout the week at times. So do not be too surprised if you have to wait up to 2 days for a response. I don't plan on waiting that long as I try to update when I have the time. But like all things in life everything doesn't always go according to plans.
For instance I had planned to update on Sunday but there were still power issues going on in my region. Monday night had me slogged down with a lot of make up homework for the week of school missed due to the weather. Tonight I still have some homework but I can manage it for the time being.
The captain cleared his throat after Thelas made his comment and said, "As I said before we had some early reports on this land from two merchant ships that had discovered the land mass along their previously clear route. Their cargo had been time sensitive prohibiting initial exploration. We used math and known land formations to estimate the general size of the land by factoring in their delayed return along with their initial observations."
The captain scanned the mountain range again before continuing, "As for sending in a scout ship I agree. Though if we are to make a temporary camp to transport supplies for deeper exploration then we will need a beach, not the rocky cliffs tied into that mountain chain. So the question still remains: Do we head east or west to look for our beach?"
Name: Rythos
Age: 23
Gender: Male
Height: 6’7”
Weight: 342 lbs
Appearance: Rythos has muscles in places most people don’t even have places. His dark hair is long and unkempt. His deep blue eyes seem to hold secrets few can fathom. He wears crude clothes made of the skin of a Craw Wurm. He also carries a crude dagger made from the bone of the same Wurm. He accented his armor with other bits of the bone, and his satchel is made from the stomach of the great beast.
"Very well," responded Matrim as he turned away and called out, "Take us around the eastern portion of the land!"
The groggy crew responded with well trained discipline and set the course of the ship within minutes. After another four hours of sailing the Setting Star was less than a mile out from the shore which was slowly changing from cliffs to dark muddy beaches. The sight they were being greeted with was one of rotten vegetation with promises of marsh beyond.
"Well... The bright side is the west end could be far worse..." muttered Matrim using his spyglass once again. "What do you three think? Want to send the scouting party out here?"
He brought his right hand to the tip of his hat and gave a small nod to the three before moving to the back of the ship where his quarters lie.
-----
By the time the last of the supplies were loaded onto the Setting Star the weather had changed from a miserable cloudy evening to a miserable ice cold raining night. The sailors were grumpy as the captain ordered them to take the ship out as he would have no delays. In the captain's eyes time was of the essence.
And so the group departed from Estark's harbor out onto the open ocean. By the next morning the ship had moved away from the dreary weather of the harbor to a crisp sunny day with strong winds. The change in weather helped to lighten the mood among the crew who were still keeping there distance from the magi.
For five days the crew continued to keep to themselves. By the sixth however things had changed as a buzz filled the ship's mood. The entire crew could tell they were nearing their destination and had decided to cut loose before they would have to get serious in the next day. Thus the captain allowed his crew to break out the wine and ale.
With the flow of alcohol came the loss of all inhibitions and concerns among the crew who happily celebrated with any of the magi who joined them. By the end of the sixth day there were more than half of the crew with headaches that were determined to spend all of the seventh morning asleep.
On the seventh dawn came a loud yell, "Land!"
This caused a slightly sluggish response among the crew as there were several groans. This was soon followed by Matrim yelling to the magi, "Kronal! Thelas! Rythos! Get up here now!"
He checked the straps of his knife's sheathe and hoisted his satchel over his arm, again checking to ensure that he wouldn't get into too much trouble in case of a fight. He strode upstairs, skipping every other step, and wove around the collapsed form of a sailor who had drunk too much too late last night. As he reached the deck, he pulled off a crisp salute and glanced at the captain, then turned his attention to the presumably sighted land.
A groan from a nearby sailor caught the captain's attention causing him to look in Kronal's direction. Matrim offered Kronal his spyglass saying, "Take a look..."
Bringing the spyglass up to his eye, Kronal saw the speck of land leap into focus revealing a mountain range masked in in smoke with a red hue. At this distance it was hard to make out the tips of the mountains but he was fairly sure they were shaped like the skulls of some sort of beast. Sweeping the spyglass across the range he could find no feasible area for the ship to set anchor nearby.
As Kronal lowers the spyglass to contemplate what he had seen, Matrim asked, "I couldn't find anywhere on the southern portion to set anchor to send a smaller boat in. That's going to leave us with two options: sail to the west or east to find another place to set anchor. Where are those other two magi...?"
On the seventh day, it was during his morning workout that he heard the captain's shout. He stood up and made sure his satchel and dagger were easily at hand and he went. He arrived just after Kronal, and he heard everything that had transpired, though no one had noticed his arrival at first. When he spoke from right behind Kronal and the captain, he expected to startle them, though he was not concerned with that.
"Rythos think that those mountains look dangerous." he said quietly. "Maybe this job become harder than first thought."
Age: 23
Gender: Male
Height: 6’7”
Weight: 342 lbs
Appearance: Rythos has muscles in places most people don’t even have places. His dark hair is long and unkempt. His deep blue eyes seem to hold secrets few can fathom. He wears crude clothes made of the skin of a Craw Wurm. He also carries a crude dagger made from the bone of the same Wurm. He accented his armor with other bits of the bone, and his satchel is made from the stomach of the great beast.
LVL: 1
EXP: 0
GLD: 0
Greeting the captain, he waited to first allow the others to state their opinions before he made his suggestion.
"Rythos volunteer to go with scouts to protect. This way you get knowledge, and Rythos not stuck here waiting" he said.
Age: 23
Gender: Male
Height: 6’7”
Weight: 342 lbs
Appearance: Rythos has muscles in places most people don’t even have places. His dark hair is long and unkempt. His deep blue eyes seem to hold secrets few can fathom. He wears crude clothes made of the skin of a Craw Wurm. He also carries a crude dagger made from the bone of the same Wurm. He accented his armor with other bits of the bone, and his satchel is made from the stomach of the great beast.
LVL: 1
EXP: 0
GLD: 0
Age: 23
Gender: Male
Height: 6’7”
Weight: 342 lbs
Appearance: Rythos has muscles in places most people don’t even have places. His dark hair is long and unkempt. His deep blue eyes seem to hold secrets few can fathom. He wears crude clothes made of the skin of a Craw Wurm. He also carries a crude dagger made from the bone of the same Wurm. He accented his armor with other bits of the bone, and his satchel is made from the stomach of the great beast.
LVL: 1
EXP: 0
GLD: 0
He creased his forehead in thought for a moment, then swiveled suddenly to face the captain. Kronal inquired, "Do you have a chart? If not, how did you navigate here?"
EDIT:
OOC: Where is Murphy? It's been 2 days...
"We have charts indicating the land here but nothing useful for navigation once you head into the center of the land. First observations indicated a flattening of the land the further north we go, though there is little indication of the terrain other than a potential chain of smaller islands to the north east. Oh and you may think that small speck of land ahead is just an island but I can assure you that land there is just under the size of Kush from our first reports." commented the Captain.
Age: 23
Gender: Male
Height: 6’7”
Weight: 342 lbs
Appearance: Rythos has muscles in places most people don’t even have places. His dark hair is long and unkempt. His deep blue eyes seem to hold secrets few can fathom. He wears crude clothes made of the skin of a Craw Wurm. He also carries a crude dagger made from the bone of the same Wurm. He accented his armor with other bits of the bone, and his satchel is made from the stomach of the great beast.
LVL: 1
EXP: 0
GLD: 0
OOC: To separate my personal feelings from my character's, I want nothing more than to jump head-first into trouble. However, Kronal is an ex-lieutenant, which gives him a certain healthy respect for impulsive decisions.
OOC: Is our GM having weather problems again? Also, where is Bassplayer?
OOC: I wasn't home this weekend...had limited net access. However, I am here now...
Age: 23
Gender: Male
Height: 6’7”
Weight: 342 lbs
Appearance: Rythos has muscles in places most people don’t even have places. His dark hair is long and unkempt. His deep blue eyes seem to hold secrets few can fathom. He wears crude clothes made of the skin of a Craw Wurm. He also carries a crude dagger made from the bone of the same Wurm. He accented his armor with other bits of the bone, and his satchel is made from the stomach of the great beast.
LVL: 1
EXP: 0
GLD: 0
I'm around guys. Just so you three know I am working on a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics with a minor in teaching at the high school level. This means I have a lot of homework to do throughout the week at times. So do not be too surprised if you have to wait up to 2 days for a response. I don't plan on waiting that long as I try to update when I have the time. But like all things in life everything doesn't always go according to plans.
For instance I had planned to update on Sunday but there were still power issues going on in my region. Monday night had me slogged down with a lot of make up homework for the week of school missed due to the weather. Tonight I still have some homework but I can manage it for the time being.
The captain cleared his throat after Thelas made his comment and said, "As I said before we had some early reports on this land from two merchant ships that had discovered the land mass along their previously clear route. Their cargo had been time sensitive prohibiting initial exploration. We used math and known land formations to estimate the general size of the land by factoring in their delayed return along with their initial observations."
The captain scanned the mountain range again before continuing, "As for sending in a scout ship I agree. Though if we are to make a temporary camp to transport supplies for deeper exploration then we will need a beach, not the rocky cliffs tied into that mountain chain. So the question still remains: Do we head east or west to look for our beach?"
IC:
Kronal shrugged quietly. "If there is nothing else to base our decision on, I suggest east."
Age: 23
Gender: Male
Height: 6’7”
Weight: 342 lbs
Appearance: Rythos has muscles in places most people don’t even have places. His dark hair is long and unkempt. His deep blue eyes seem to hold secrets few can fathom. He wears crude clothes made of the skin of a Craw Wurm. He also carries a crude dagger made from the bone of the same Wurm. He accented his armor with other bits of the bone, and his satchel is made from the stomach of the great beast.
LVL: 1
EXP: 0
GLD: 0
The groggy crew responded with well trained discipline and set the course of the ship within minutes. After another four hours of sailing the Setting Star was less than a mile out from the shore which was slowly changing from cliffs to dark muddy beaches. The sight they were being greeted with was one of rotten vegetation with promises of marsh beyond.
"Well... The bright side is the west end could be far worse..." muttered Matrim using his spyglass once again. "What do you three think? Want to send the scouting party out here?"