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spectralscathath · 6 months

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What would each Antares character play as in a tabletop RPG like Dungeons and Dragons? What races, classes and builds? Why? What does it say about them as a character?

now this IS a fun one. I'm gonna go with standard D&D because I know it well enough, though there is actually an in-universe dungeon-crawler tabletop RPG called Grimmlings & Grottos. But anyway! Let's do some breakdowns. Let's just set it tentatively at the beginning of the story, because what the characters might play at the end would be very different. But lets just stick with early days for now. I'm also gonna stick to the people, so far, who might currently have played in Ruby's hypothetical D&D game, so thats mostly her family and friend group. Beacon Era, even. Or else this would be VERY long.

First of all: Ruby is the DM. No question. She wants to tell stories, make homebrew stuff, and gets to play all of the monsters and NPCs. done deal. If she had to be a player at all she'd probably want to be something she can do a lot of fun roleplaying in, and also probably be really rules-lawyering and try to swing it all in her favour. Which makes me think that her go to is a Stout Halfling Dhampir (its a lineage that goes on top of a base race) as an Arcane Trickster Rogue or something ("yeah DM sneak attack is once per turn"). But yeah Ruby is the DM. As for why? She likes storytelling, and she likes having a measure of control over things around her, she's not ever been a 'go-with-the-flow' person, she thinks and plans and even as leader her worries were 'what if things get out of control and I can't handle that' rather than 'i'm too young for this'. And, well, Ruby is all about fairytales and grand adventures, what suits her better than making that grand adventure?

Which is to say: when the players go off script she gets grumpy about it. She'll roll with it but she'll complain. "Yang I gave you eight seperate story threads and you picked PIRACY? that wasn't one of them do you know how many crew member NPCs I have to roll up now?"

I like to think that canonically the Xiao Long-Rose-Branwen household has played at least one session with Ruby DMing and Yang instantly picked the highest damage output possible and built an Orc Barbarian (Path of the Beast). Backstory? What's that? "Her name's Ember and she's killed twenty people, lets go kill monsters'. I think this should be quite self-explanatory to Yang's beginning characterisation. She wants to skip ahead to the cool fight scenes where she can describe how badass her character is.

Taiyang and Qrow (they're mostly here to support Ruby's interests and don't actually get what's going on but they have a great attitude and Ruby's patient with them) both individually saw 'Bard' and Taiyang saw 'well that looks fun, I can make up lil rhymes' and Qrow saw 'I can be a sex, drugs, rock-and-roll guy that's the epitome of cool' and drummed up a bard duo called where one is an aging punk rocker Tiefling based on all Qrow's fav emo bands as a twenty-year-old and Taiyang saw 'gold dragonborn' and blacked out. They both picked College of Eloquence because it looked easiest. Not much to say about why beyond 'parental support and really trying to understand their kid's interests' which is why Tai is the best parent in Antares and why Qrow- well, sometimes he hits the mark.

Weiss has no fuckin clue what any of this is aside from 'nerd stuff for plebians that I suppose I must join for team building'. Basic first options on the list, human fighter, basic stats, doesn't really get into it for a couple of sessions but once she twigs that the dice is like a numbers game it really catches her interest and she starts looking into it more. She snags Eldritch Knight as her path for access to spells and ends up having a good time. Its a microcosm of Weiss's 'defrosting ice queen' plotline. Once she gets into to she gets into it.

Blake actually read the players handbook for more than half a second and decided she wanted to be creative and have a bit of fun while also quickly making the connection that the party was very tanky, so she decided to create a Water Genasi Sorcerer with the path of Lunar Sorcery, since she thought the options it had were fun and she absolutely did extra reading to decide. Mostly this ties into Blake's early character of, though not looking like it, actually genuinely really wanting to get along with her friends while also rediscovering her interests. She also decides to play an optimist, just to try and have that bit of escapism she so desperately wants. Oh- play as a Tabaxi? No, why do you ask?

Onto JNPR, Jaune has the distinction of Acutally Having Knowledge of This, he strikes me as a 'oh I love D&D podcasts I've always wanted to play it'. His dicerolls are, obviously, fucking horrendous at all times, but he ends up playing as a dwarf paladin, I think, good ol Oath of Devotion. He just wants to do a bit of wish fulfilment as a hero, but he doesn't really push it to the point of being a pure 'must follow all the rules' type of paladin roleplay. He just wants to enjoy having friends and mostly tries to keep things chill at the table.

Pyrrha has no idea what she's doing either but she's trying really hard even though she can't wrap her head around any of it. She picked a Cleric because it seemed nice, she could be the party healer. Life domain, Ruby threw her a softball and said 'that's the healing one' and Pyrrha went 'yep'. She just wants to be a normal girl who plays games with a friend group and also be useful in a way that will keep them from ditching her. Gotta please everyone, and healing- it's nice. Useful. They'll invite her more to play.

Nora wants to be a barbarian too, specifically a Goliath with path of Wild Magic for the chaos because she wants to try derail the campaign like she heard about, but Ruby plays favourites with her sister and tells her to pick a new one so Nora goes sulking through the book again for something else, sees the words 'blood' and 'hunter' next to each other, and goes feral. Order of the Lycan is an instant follow-up. Race? Oh- yeah, still a Goliath. Nora just wants to fuck shit up and be with her friends, there's no underlying deeper character issues. Possibly height envy, maybe.

Ren, similarly to Blake, reads the handbook cover to cover, does his own research, and gets super into the idea of Roleplaying as well. However, he goes full 'how dark can I get away with' and creates a warlock, specifically with a Great Old One as patron. A haunted man, troubled by shadows and loss of the past long before being cursed with a treacherous deal that leads to the nightmares and madness of the present, desperately struggling to hold onto sanity as their patron eats a piece of their mind with every spell he casts. Yanno, standard Lovecraftian horror. Ren's really trying to be dramatic and hoping for a tragic end, where his character is twisted into the secret main villain, and Ruby thinks that would be really cool and is pushing for it if only the rest of the campaign wasn't trying to power of friendship this. Ren's just trying to lowkey work through some stuff, it's fine. It's totally fine. Oh- and he picked Pact of the Tome, he wants more cantrips.

Sun got invited along and was like 'gnome ranger lets fuckin go'. Epitome of 'holy shit I can have a pet dinosaur this game RULES' as a player. Mostly coasting on dice luck but can pull out one HELL of a bit of roleplay when he wants to. It's beautiful. He really wishes this campaign could go on forever, it's easier when the bad guys are just figurines on a table.

Penny is ready and waiting to play but she never gets the chance to join a session. Her schedule just doesn't line up, unfortunately. And she hasn't decided her class- she'll see what everyone else needs for an effective party balance first and then she'll pick one. So she doesn't get to pick a subclass. But she'd really like to give it a try if she could! She'd play a standard human character. No there's no other meaning in her wanting to be a human character when she could be something way more interesting, not at all.

Ruby offered to Sun to bring Emerald along for a session but Emerald said no. F in the chat for Emerald (one day).

#rwby #scorruby au #asks #i like critical role I can have critical role stuff as an option

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jennifercrowart · 3 years

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D&D Diary - The Yawning Rodent, 15

Refresher: Our adventurers Lugs (grung barbarian), Lurk (grung rogue), Aelia (tiefling cleric), and Valas (drow sorcerer) with tagalong Deku (ratfolk cleric) fought Belak, his giant frog, McKennedeigh, and Bradley in Belak's grove. While Belak was taken down fairly easily, his death caused McKennedeigh and Bradley to go in a frenzy, drinking the blood from his body and becoming stronger. After a tough fight, the party managed to kill Bradley, and tie up an unconscious McKennedeigh. Lugs and Lurk grabbed the ruby red fruit of the Gulthias tree before it was set entirely ablaze, filling the cavern with smoke. The party took shelter in what seems to have been Belak's study.

Sunless Citadel spoilers!

Now in Belak's study, Lugs sits at his desk and tries to mime doing work with all the papers. He finds a candle in a candle holder, and deduces that it had been burning several hours ago - someone must have been here recently!!! Thinking hard, he takes the candle stick and eats it.

Aelia finds a few spell scrolls, as well as a mantle of some more valuable items; gemstones, Belak's stash of gold, a glove with a rune design on the back of the hand, and a silver circlet inlaid with a sapphire. Meanwhile, Deku goes through the bookshelves, and finds several titles placed closer to the desk that look more heavily used. One is called Born to Die, a book in Common about the Druidic theories of the life and death cycle. There's also Treasures of the Fire Lords, a collection of ancient journals written in Elven, and, finally, his stolen library book Cults Around the World.

Cults Around the World:

True to the title, it details several cults around the world. One such cult is called the Cult of the Dragon, also known as the Keepers of the Secret Hoard, who lived in the Sunless Citadel for 1400 years until the Cataclysm. The citadel was once called Maetrine Keep, home to a powerful vampire called Illythia. The cult took over, but were a secretive and shadowy group. It's said that a huge red dragon could be seen about the citadel during the cult's reign. The cult is said to have perished when the Sunless Citadel - along with other citadels across the continent - sunk beneath the earth during the Cataclysm 800 years ago.

Although he recognises the popular language the script is written in, Deku passes the old diaries to Valas, who can read Elven. Deku assumes, with disgust, that they're Belak's journals regarding his experiments.

The Vampire Diaries:

Written in Elven, this appears to be a collection of journals kept by an old, experienced, and powerful vampire woman called Illythia. It talks about her building a large citadel for herself called Maetrine Keep, in which she ruled over the nearby lands with her army of vampire spawn for approximately 300 years. The land Maetrine Keep stood over is described in the journals as a large and dense forest with a winding river running through it from the ocean, and seems to be set pre-Cataclysm.

Valas flips to the most recent page of the unfinished final diary. The last pages tell of Illythia's army and of the threat of an encroaching army - led by Ashardalon - but doesn't end. Interspersed throughout the journals are much more recent slips of parchment, with a different handwriting and notes taken in common on vampire biology and magic.

Next, Deku tries to read Treasures of the Fire Lords. As he opens it up to the second page, a warding glyph on the paper lights up, activating an icy explosion that fills the room. On instinct, Deku immediately throws the book away from himself before hiding inside his oversized armour like a turtle, and Valas - unable to take much more pain - uses his last spell slot to cast Absorb Elements on himself and take just a quarter of the damage. Wounded from their previous battle, Lurk and Aelia take the full brunt of the explosion, slamming them against the study's walls with ice before they slump to the ground, unconscious. Lugs, brawnier than most, is able to absorb the hit, and he rushes over to his brother's body to start helping him. He tips water from his barrel into Lurk's mouth, filling up his cheeks like a balloon.

Deku comes over and pushes Lugs out of the way, complimenting him on his good work, before gently compressing Lurk's chest so the water squirts out of his mouth like a fountain instead of drowning him. With his cleric knowledge and his medicine kit, he's able to stabilise both Lurk and Aelia. The still conscious party members make some space on the rug for Lurk and Aelia to rest and sleep it off, Lurk propped up on a bed of books that Lugs made for him.

The Treasures of the Fire Lords book is worse for wear now, but what remains seems to be writing in Common matching the annotations in the vampire diaries - Belak's writing, all research notes on his experiments on Chadley, McKennedeigh, and Bradley. It mentions that Chadley was experimented on differently to the latter two, and Valas and Deku are concerned to hear this, unsure if Chadley is currently ok at the Rat's Nest.

Lugs beckons his fire snake to sleep against the storeroom wall outside the study, and the snake does so, as Lugs seems to have had good luck with befriending the creature who's still full on the goblin he fed them. They bring McKennedeigh's tied-up body inside the study so they can keep watch over her, and wedge the doors shut with pitons in case of intruders. Secure, the party takes a long rest for the rest of the day, which passes by without issue.

They have the chance to inspect some of the potentially-magic items they'd picked up recently. The gold circlet with metal woven into flames and a ruby in the centre is called the Circlet of Ignition, which lets the wearer cast the 2nd-level spell Flame Blade once per day. The silver circlet with delicate weaving and a sapphire is the Sojourner's Circlet of Rituals, giving the wearer advantage on maintaining concentration during ritual spells. Lastly, the butler-looking glove is The Master's Glove, which can be used to cast Unseen Servant spell once per day. On the inside of the Sojourner's Circlet of Rituals are etchings in Dwarven, which read, "Made in the Glitterhame caverns of Khundrukar. Quality assured!"

Later, Deku checks up on Aelia and Lurk as they wake up. McKennedeigh has also woken up, and is writhing around, hissing and spitting in a vicious fury. Lugs gives her a few bonks with his club until she passes out again.

Aelia eagerly claims the Circlet of Ignition, Deku takes the Sojourner's Circlet of Rituals, and Lugs takes The Master's Glove.

The party leaves the study and heads back towards the remains of the Gulthias tree, intending on investigating it further now that the fire has gone out. Everyone else stays very far back as Lugs goes on ahead to crack open the burnt husk of the trunk. Inside is a lot of empty space, with burnt vein-like structures twisting all the way down from the outer shell of the tree towards its base, where it all comes together and twists into a wooden stake that's been jammed into the torso of a skeleton with enough force to break several ribs. Just the torso of the skeleton is visible above ground, never having had a proper burial. Lugs chuckles to himself, and uses The Master's Glove to have the unseen servant - an invisible, mindless force - puppet the skeleton's torso while he steps back and feigns surprise and fear. The performance is so overblown and shoddy that it doesn't fool anyone, and the brittle, ancient skeleton begins to break apart as it's manipulated and no longer pinned in place by the stake.

They think this is Illythia's skeleton - the corpse of the slain vampire who initially built this citadel before the Cult of the Dragon moved in.

Lugs breaks off the stake from the rest of the tree that grew from it, while Deku also takes some samples of bone and bark just in case they want to study it later. With nothing else of note, the party begin heading back to the well shaft so they can leave the Sunless Citadel.

Aelia tries to come up with a plan on what they'll say to Yusdrayl when they get back to the upper floor, as they obviously aren't returning with Calcryx like they kept saying they would. She points out that she and Lurk still bear the marks of ice burns from the glyph explosion before their rest, and hopes to use that as proof that they fought Calcryx down here, at least.

They reach the well shaft that is their only known path to the upper level of the citadel, and Lurk climbs on ahead to scout. Lugs takes a barrel and some chains from the laboratory they passed through, combining them with rope to make a big bucket his fire snake can climb into while he carries them up. Unable to carry both the fire snake and McKennedeigh, however, he opts to leave his heavy water barrel behind for the time being, and offers Aelia (the second strongest party member) 100 gold to help him carry his fire snake, which she hesitantly accepts.

When Lurk's about 30 feet from the top of the 80 foot shaft, he hears Yusdrayl's voice calling out to him, asking him how their search went and what happened to Belak. Above him, Yusdrayl is leaning over the lip of the well, her big golden eyes peering down. Panicking, Lurk doesn't answer her question, and instead asks if she has a bathroom he can use. Dumbfounded, Yusdrayl says that the Kobold Gang often just goes out in the Underdark, away from the citadel. Lurk keeps insisting that they must have a bathroom and that he needs to use it, and Yusdrayl asks him why he doesn't just go on the lower floor, which must be empty of threats if they defeated Belak. Lurk gives in and climbs back down, to do his 'number 3s'.

When he gets to the bottom of the shaft, he tells the rest of the party what happened, and that Yusdrayl is on the lookout for them. Unsure of what else they can do, the party climbs up, and hears Yusdrayl calling back down to them again when they're about halfway.

Yusdrayl demands to know where Calcryx is, but Valas asks if they can answer her questions once they're done climbing up the shaft, as they're exhausted and don't want to fall. Yusdrayl says that they better answer her quickly, then. Indignant, Aelia starts arguing with her, confused as to why Yusdrayl has stopped trusting them. Ignoring Yusdrayl's warnings, Aelia continues climbing up the shaft, though she stops when Valas notices Yusdrayl's elite guards leaning over the lip of the well with their slingshots trained on the party.

Valas tells Yusdrayl that they did find Calcryx with Belak as they theorised they would, but that the white dragon was not yet loyal to the druid, and she fled into the Underdark soon after the fighting started. Unable to ignore Belak, the party had to stay and fight him instead of give chase to her. Yusdrayl wants proof of their story, but Valas tells her that they can't have proof because Calcryx is gone. The Kobold Gang leader relents and allows the party to climb up to Durnn's chamber, but on the condition that she'll be sending some of her bandits down to look for any traces of Calcryx to verify their story.

The adventurers climb to the top of the well, and find that they're surrounded by the Kobold Gang. Amongst them is Durnn, grinning sadistically. Yusdrayl explains that she's grateful that they took care of the Goblin Gang for her, but that Durnn had eventually come back to tell her about the party betraying her, saying that they took Calcryx from the Goblin Gang days ago but still never returned her to Yusdrayl. She was convinced that Durnn would just be trying to get her to turn against them, but resolved to see if the party would finally return with only excuses and no white dragon one final time.

Durnn tells her that, if Valas' story is true, Belak's grove and study - where Durnn says the druid would've been - is very far away from the one exit to the Underdark on that floor, which is very close to the well shaft. Valas says that a new rift opened up in the grove, which is where Calcryx escaped, but Durnn just comments how convenient that would be for their story.

Instead of climbing up with the rest of the party, Lurk had instead climbed back down the shaft. Yusdrayl demands to know where he's gone, and Aelia says that he wasn't done 'with his number 3s' yet. 'Number 3s' sound like a truly horrific burden to bear. Yusdrayl sends down two of her bandits as well as an elite guard to the lower floor to investigate for signs of Calcryx, and they pass by Lurk on his way up as they climb back down.

When Lurk reaches the top, he telepathically communicates to Aelia and Valas (as he can only do so with 2 people at a time) that he set his two hunting traps at the base of the shaft. He tells Lugs that in Grung, so the bandits around them don't understand. When the bandits and guard reach the bottom, those up top hear pained screams. The elite guard yells from below that it was trapped, and that one of the bandits is badly hurt. Having used this to wipe out even just 3 of Yusdrayl's followers from the battleground, the party readies to fight her as their betrayal is revealed!

#dnd #dungeons and dragons #DM diaries #dnd diaries #dm diary #dnd diary #the sunless citadel #the yawning rodent #dnd 5e

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diceforanaltmode · 4 years

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Team Ice: Adventure 5: The One Where the Spymaster Befriends the Dog

Team Ice continues their adventure and we’re bringing you the latest summary! Last time the party defeated a sea snake on their way sailing to Caminus. What - or who - will they encounter this time?

The Cast - TEAM ICE

Skids by Soundwave (human rogue) Tailgate by Butter (dwarven barbarian) Cyclonus by Ren (tiefling paladin) Nautica by Robophelia (half-elf wizard) Velocity by Cee (high elf cleric) Brainstorm by Bex (air genasi wizard)

First Session | Second Session | Third Session | Fourth Session

After the party gets their various loot from the dead sea snake, and Prowl rejoins them on the deck of the ship, they are met by a bright magenta aarakocra - Misfire - and a bronze dragonborn - Grimlock. Shortly after realizing that the commotion has all been resolved, Grimlock goes over to the side of the ship to throw up, hiccupping fire over the side as well. The crew yells at him that he better not set their ship on fire.

Misfire explains that Grimlock was seasick, which is why they hadn’t left their room until they heard the commotion and Grimlock insisted on coming up topside to make sure everything was okay. Skids comments that staying belowdecks is actually worse for seasickness, and Misfire says that that explains a lot. “Grimsy! Hey, did you hear -” And Grimlock flips him off.

A goblin climbs out from under Misfire’s wing - it’s Spinister! He climbs up to Misfire’s shoulder and says “I don’t like the scaly thing, I’m going to shoot it.” He hops off and goes to shoot the sea serpent’s corpse repeatedly with his crossbow. Misfire comments offhandedly that when Spinister had said ‘I don’t like the scaly thing, I’m going to shoot it’, it could have gone either way - it was a good thing he hadn’t meant Grimlock. Velocity is a little concerned about the wasted arrows, but Misfire says that Spinister always recovers them - and indeed, he comes back with bloody arrows. When Velocity asks if he’s going to clean them, he pokes Misfire in the shoulder with one - which Misfire is not amused by - and, having confirmed it’s still sharp, puts it back in his quiver.

Grimlock compliments Lotty’s bright hair - she believes that hey, why let nature set the colors when we can have prettier ones, and Misfire approves - he has bright magenta feathers. So does Grimlock - apparently some dragonborn paint their scales for similar reasons. The parties introduce themselves. Misfire says there would normally be more of them, but Krok and the others stayed back at the clinic. Velocity makes a mental note of this in case she ever wants to look for another job. The three of them - Grimlock, Misfire, and Spinister - are on assignment from someone called the Curator to retrieve up some kind of Camien artifact, it’s supposed to be good money. When the party all jumps to ask further questions about the artifact, Misfire says he wishes he knew more, but the Curator is being unusually cagey for this one, even for him - he’s supposed to find out more when they get to Caminus.

Grimlock asks if Velocity and Nautica are from Caminus, because he doesn’t see a lot of elves going away from Caminus and coming back. Velocity awkwardly extricates herself from the conversation - but it’s not for bad reasons and she’s not lying! - and goes to huddle with Nautica to decide what they should say, because … they didn’t really talk about what they were going to say, they ran away from home, and no one really knows that, in Camien terms, they’re pretty young. They decide that they should tell the truth, they’re from Caminus. Velocity comes back and says this, and promises it’s not a lie even though they had to go off and talk about it. Misfire says she may be giving Spinister a run for his money. Velocity says she’s not great at socializing yet because on Caminus you could be set for a three hour conversation just by commenting on someone’s painting and letting them talk and not listening. Here you actually have to talk back and forth.

Skids drags Prowl for not having shown up to help with the sea serpent, and Prowl says he wouldn’t have hired a ship that couldn’t defend itself, but he’s glad the rest of them had it handled when they decided to get involved and didn’t manage to get themselves killed. Velocity and Skids ask Prowl if he’s heard of this Curator. Prowl says he knows of several people who trade in powerful artifacts who go by that handle. Tailgate asks if we can’t just patent these things; Prowl says people sticking to one name, (that is, one person per name) would make his job a lot easier.

The ship docks in Caminus, and after getting through the checkpoint at the docks, Prowl gave everyone pendants that made them look like elves so they could blend in. Luna was disguised as a normal dog. Tailgate became Tallgate. The group ducked into the only bar on this side of Customs, so Prowl could ask the barkeep where to find his contact, Arcee.

When they come into the bar, they find Javelin standing at the door of the bar, with a pirate eye patch, dyed purple hair, and dressed in lots of purples and pinks. She carries a shortsword by her side, and is standing as the bar’s bouncer. Acceleron, an elf with dyed pink hair, is standing behind the bar and gives them all a friendly wave. At the bar, Skids and Prowl order the beer on tap, Lotty gets a non-alcoholic version of the house cocktail and Nautica gets a very alcoholic version. Prowl asks whether Arcee still lives here, and Acceleron tells him that she and Aileron just moved to a house by the beach, on the southwest side. Prowl tips her extra for the information.

In the time the party is there, another elf, with dyed blue hair, white and blue clothing, gold sunglasses, and a three-eyed parrot on her shoulder, Proxima, who comes in through the back door of the bar. She kisses Acceleron before walking across the bar to give Javelin a kiss and take Javelin’s place so Javelin can go watch the lighthouse. Acceleron introduces them as her wives, and says that the three of them run both the lighthouse and the bar. Proxima sees Luna where she’s waiting patiently outside the bar and immediately goes into full dog-lover mode with lots of pets.

Looking at the dyed hair all around him, Tailgate decides he wants to dye his hair, probably blue or purple. Acceleron says that Lotty’s hair looks really good, so he can probably go to whoever she has do it, but if he wants to go to someone in town, she has a recommendation for the stylist who does it for her, which she gives to Tailgate. Prowl, however, reminds them that they’re all on mission, and if they could have some baseline minimum level of efficiency… he doesn’t sound terribly optimistic about this request paying off. Lotty insists that he needs to let the party have their silly sidequests, like learning to bake a cake! She says Prowl needs a hobby. Prowl insists that that’s not a real word, he would have heard of it.

The party notices when the Scavengers come into the bar, having clearly also bypassed the checkpoint. Meanwhile,Tailgate is still adjusting to his new center of gravity as Tallgate, as he now looks like an elf and is much taller. When Acceleron, seeing him looking kind of wobbly, asks if he had one too many before getting here, the party just says he’s seasick, and Acceleron makes him up a tonic for seasickness. Hearing this, Grimlock comes over to the bar - he could use a seasickness tonic too. While waiting, Grimlock gets very flustered by Lotty. “Anything to help pretty a lady - fuck! Anything to help lady a - fuck!” He flees the bar. Velocity asks the party if it seems like he was okay, or if he needs help. Skids says he was just flustered, but Velocity doubts that. Skids asks if she has an ulterior motive for wanting to go over and check on him, like a crush. Lotty uses shameless obliviousness. It's super effective.

Nautica, stressed out by returning to Caminus, had a strong drink. Lotty talks to her, asking if she’s okay, and if she’s only okay because she’s drunk enough to feel sort of okay, to which Nautica says yeah, probably. Lotty says that if it ever gets to a point where it’s too much and she wants to leave, they can leave together.

The party considers how to get through customs into the town itself where Arcee lives, and the rest of Caminus - particularly whether they’ll have to smuggle Luna through customs. Prowl says they aren’t going through customs - he’s trying to say it so Acceleron can’t hear, even though Acceleron wouldn’t give a fuck if she did. Proxima, on the other side of the room, is immediately distracted by the mention of a potential new animal friend, looking out the window and dashing out to pet the cute dog.

After leaving the bar (Lotty waving goodbye to the Scavengers) and extricating Luna from Proxima, the group sneaks along the rocky beach, Lotty carrying Luna. As they go, Prowl does a walk-and-talk about the people they also saw disembarking the ship - the blonde man he recognized as 7-of-12, and the other two humans he assumes are guards based on their dress, but he didn’t recognize the half-elf, and he doesn’t like that. Skids suggests that she might just have been brought along so that someone part-elven was with them to help pacify the Camiens, Prowl says he hopes that’s true.

They arrive at Arcee and Aileron’s door, and Aileron answers. Aileron is an elf with her red hair kept short. She’s short for an elf, wearing layers of ones, one of which is magenta and too long for her. Aileron realizes that is the Prowl she’s heard of when he’s particularly brusque in asking for Arcee, and she calls for her. Arcee comes to the door, she’s a tall, ripped, goliath woman in pirate clothes, wearing lots of magenta. The party can guess that the two women borrow from each other's closets. Arcee asks what on earth Prowl is wearing, and recognizes Skids (by pictures and description, they haven’t met before.) Arcee also recognizes Nautica from her time living in this town, calls her ‘little minnow’ and asks how she got mixed up with all of these folks.

Arcee and Aileron let the party into their house, have a whispered conversation in the kitchen, and then bring the party water and finger foods. Arcee wants to know why they’re there, and - she adds - it better be important, because she’s retired, Prowl explains about the Functionist party and the potential alliance with Caminus. In the discussion, Prowl mentions Arcee having settled down in an obviously disparaging way, Velocity objects, even if that’s not what Prowl wants, he has to respect other people’s choices. Skids and Velocity get into a discussion about Prowl and relationships “- not everyone wants -” “He doesn’t have to get married, but everyone wants friends,” and Chromedome gets brought up “he clearly cared about Chromedome, maybe they were friends, maybe they were something else -”

Prowl, to Arcee: “I’ve changed my mind, just kill me now.”

Arcee: “Nah, that’d probably get these kids in trouble.”

Arcee breaks up the discussion and says not to be too hard on Prowl, he chose the mission and she couldn’t, she has something to lose now.

Arcee says that she saw a few human men and a half-elf coming out from customs, who she assumes were the Functionist Delegation, because otherwise non-elves wouldn’t be allowed beyond the fence in Caminus. Aileron saw the half-elf in the context of her work at the library, and also around the temple. She says the half-elf claims to be a devotee of Solus Prime, but that her holy text looks like nothing Aileron recognizes, and that the half-elf messed up simple prayers to Solus Prime. Maybe the Functionists thought they were bringing along an expert on Solus Prime, but that wasn’t what they got. Whatever she’s here for, she’s probably up to no good.

Arcee lays out the most likely route the Functionist delegation would take to the capital, based on how expensive goods are transported - it’s not like an isolationist country has foreign dignitaries travelling to the capital regularly. The route, Velocity notices, but doesn’t tell the others, goes through her old hometown.

The group discusses their next move. Skids suggests that if, say, they killed the Functionist party, now, looking like elves and able to be presumed to be Camiens, their deaths would be blamed on Caminus, and the Empire would no longer want to seek an alliance with Caminus. Others point out that they would still eventually be identified as outsiders, even if they look like elves, Caminus is insular enough to be able to identify when people aren’t from there - and it’s not like elf-Skids looks that different from human Skids. Lotty doesn’t want to murder anyone. Lotty and Skids argue about the difference between murder and killing someone in a fight, and whether putting their own lives at risk makes the consequence of someone else’s death morally different - is there a difference between stabbing some and yelling ‘hey, we’re here to stop you’ and then stabbing them when they start to fight? Tailgate suggests that yelling ‘hey, let’s fight’ would be an even more efficient way of starting a fight, if that’s the necessary prereq. Lotty says that she won’t be involved with flat-out murder; she’s not trying to blackmail the rest of them into changing what they’re going to do, she’s just saying what she’s going to do. Cyclonus doesn’t think that murder should be their first option but he acknowledges that it might be a necessary last resort. Nautica is with Lotty on team ‘no murder’ - she’s also concerned that if the Empire does blame Caminus, it will drag Caminus into an international incident; even though she doesn’t have great love for this place, she doesn’t want to see that happen to it. Skids would prefer something else to murder, but still thinks it might be necessary.

The party also discusses whether it makes sense to try and warn Camien officials about the Functionist delegation. The issues discussed include the fact that they don’t know what the Functionists’ plan is exactly, so they don’t know what to warn of, and they have no idea if Camien officials would listen to them. The party asks the two Camiens whether Camien officials would listen to them. Velocity appeals to Prowl. “I’m a cleric, I don’t know anything about politics. Prowl, do you know about politics?” Prowl chuckles - he’s been looking amused through this whole conversation. Looking at Skids, he says, “Well, at least you haven’t lost all the sense that made you a good agent.”

Arcee laughs and looks at Prowl. “Well, I guess you still pick them the same - he almost reminds me of me.” More seriously, she continues: “Look, Caminus is a little island, they’re isolationist, they want to be able to defend themselves - I certainly wouldn’t want to take on all the Torchbearers at once, though,” she adds, “it would have to be all of them for it to be a fair fight - still, wouldn’t want to if I didn’t have to. But, that said, you don’t come to Caminus for an army, or military might. Now, when I was working for you,” she looks at Prowl, “what we were finding on the Functionists was that they were looking into artifacts connected to the Guiding Hand, mainly Primus. Now, I don’t know why you’d come to Caminus for that, but that seems like the only explanation. And if whatever they’re after here is important enough, they won’t stop after one dead delegation. I’d bet the priority needs to be figuring out what it is what they’re here for. Arcee continues, “Now, I’ve never found Camien officials to listen to much, unless it’s,” and she raises an arm and flexes. “But they’re nobs and they’re going to be travelling like nobs, so if you’re willing to cut off the road a little - not into the deep woods, of course - but you should be able to keep up with them, keep track of things and figure out what they’re after, if you haven’t lost all of your spy skills.” She elbows Prowl teasingly.

The party generally agrees this is a solid plan. As it’s getting into the evening, Aileron offers the party a meal and to stay overnight as the Functionist party probably won’t be leaving town until morning. Aileron offers to let them stay in their guest room and living room - though some of them will probably end up sleeping on the couch and the floor given how many of them there are. She adds that they’re welcome to go to the inn across the way if they want to try and fool the staff there that they’re all actually Camien. Skids says that staying here is probably safer, so they decide to accept the meal and stay over. Skids stretches out on the couch as people get up to get food, and Aileron asks if he’s okay and if she should bring food over to him. Lotty drops Luna on him in retaliation for the murder plan and he sits right up to lift Luna off him. While they eat, Luna - who’s still slowly getting used to the concept of not being used as a ‘lean and mean’ guard dog and being regularly fed - has scarfed down the bowl of food Aileron provided and is shamelessly begging for food from everyone at the table. Prowl is feeding Luna scraps under the table, and Arcee, noticing this, grins in amusement. Skids, disapproving of the dog being fed elven food, suggests that Luna should have a bowl of food. Aileron, not having noticed that Prowl was feeding Luna under the table, looks over at Luna’s empty bowl and goes to refill it. Prowl keeps feeding Luna under the table anyway, Lotty allows it, not seeing any apparent harm in his actions. The party considers that they may need to get Prowl an animal, since he’s clearly trying to befriend Luna.

Over dinner Nautica catches up with Arcee and Aileron. Since Arcee moved in with Aileron and left the shipping/spy business, Arcee and Aileron got married (“We would have sent you a wedding invite, but we didn’t know where to send it!) Arcee’s still working the docks, unloading, doing repairs and other odd jobs, and Aileron has moved from working in the church to working in the library, and she really enjoys the work.

After Arcee and Aileron gave the party the appropriate host tour of the house so they could find places to sleep and everything they needed, the two of them turned in for the night. The rest of the party stayed out and huddled in the living room. Everyone wanted to know how Nautica knows Arcee and Aileron. Nautica explains that she’s known them for most of her life; Aileron has lived here for as long as Nautica’s been alive, and worked as a cleric in the church in town for most of that time. Arcee’s been in and out of town for much of that time, working shipping and sometimes stopping in when her trade routes took her to Caminus. She’d left the shipping business and moved in with Aileron shortly before Nautica left Caminus. Nautica says that Aileron is one of the few elves who treated her like everyone else despite her only being half-elven; and that Arcee helped inspire her to leave Caminus, because she made her curious about the outside world. Nautica’s not feeling great about being back here... Tailgate comments that if she hadn’t left Caminus, she would never have met this whole new party. Lotty adds that she wouldn’t have met Luna. Or Prowl. She would have missed out on friends! And Prowl.

At the mention of Luna, everyone looks around for her, and notices her and Prowl both over by the kitchen. Not everyone can quite tell what’s going on, but the more perceptive party members realize that he’s got some leftover table scraps that he’s using to try to get Luna to practice ‘sit’, keeping his voice low to try and go unnoticed by the others. Tailgate sees All, and could probably tell you what cut of enchanted ‘meat’ the table scraps were from and what kind of dog training school Prowl ascribes to, had the DM come up with either of those details to share. Lotty asks Prowl how he knows Arcee. He looks a little abashed at having been caught out feeding Luna, but keeps patting Luna’s head while he answers. He explains that he and Arcee used to work together, and when she got into shipping and transportation she served as a cough informant, letting him know what was going on in other places, who and what was going where, doing things when they needed to be done somewhere else. She stopped doing that when she decided to settle down in Caminus, but Prowl acknowledges that she’s still keeping her eyes open and helping them out now, and admits that Aileron is keeping her eyes open too, and being helpful.

Eventually the party all falls asleep, ready to head out in the morning... session 6!

#game recap #team ice

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all-pacas · 5 years

Note

Okay this one's really weird. But the m9 are going to play dnd! What classes do they choose for their characters? Who would dm for them?(one of them or a npc)

caleb: wants to play a human wizard that DOES NOT have a tragic backstory. jester and the others who don’t know are like caleb, that’s so boring. he’s forced to pick a different race and class. he chooses a halfling rogue who is just the best at everything — partially because caleb is a rules lawyer, because caleb remembers all the rules perfectly, thank you. also she has a cat.

beau: decides she wants to try playing a sorcerer — wants to try magic, but doesn’t want to play one of her friend’s classes, you know, she’s doing her own shit. keeps forgetting to use magic and keeps using her sorcerer’s dagger to attack instead. everyone insisted that her sorceror has a bow, and no one realized he can’t use one until after character creation was complete. he’s a tiefling clearly based on beau-the-tiefling.

jester: she’s playing a SUPER CUTE tiefling WIZARD who is SO STRONG GUYS and knows just a ton of ice and water spells and no support abilities at all.

caduceus: wanted to just play a cleric, and between him and caleb they instituted a “can’t be your class” rule, so he’s playing a druid. who mostly uses support and healing abilities. but to be really exotic is a human.

nott: wanted to play a wizard because of the shit caleb pulled, but jester got to it first. after many scrapped ideas she decided to play a dragonborn barbarian, because she just wants to play and not be all meaningful and shit, she just wants to run around and kill stuff, fuck you

yasha: couldn’t decide, so they made her the cleric. she’s cool with it, all the classes sounded fun. she keeps asking jester for help with her spells, to jester’s very mild annoyance. like. she’s happy to help! but she is NOT CLERIC!! yasha ends up being a really cautious and thoughtful player and probably the only one who asks about checking for traps.

fjord: they all looked so sad and so sympathetic and offered to let him be a warlock. he opted to be the dm instead. he’s actually pretty good at it, he gets really into it. none of his dungeons have any puzzles or tricks but his combat scenarios are a lot of fun. when they complained that there’s never any atmosphere or overarching plot, he forced them to play a weird “actual life on a ship” simulator for like six sessions. whenever beau or caleb complained they’d been on a ship before, fjord would he like “oh no! a rope came loose! what is the proper method for retying it! can we just do fights again now?”

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seven--eyes · 4 years

Text

sometimes, distance is love

“But do we have to…?”

“Of-fucking-course we have to. Mr. Sparrow has been nothing but kind to us for months, everyone in the branch that I care about is going to be there, and there’s an open bar.” Kerigo wrenched sheets from Eiuus, and pulled the dragon to his level, nose to nose. Looking into his eye, Kerigo whispered, “You don’t just not go to parties that buy an open bar.”

Eiuus paused. “Let me change,” he said sheepishly.

Sparrow threw his arms around the dragons, tying them together and forcing them into a huge, uncomfortable group huddle. “There she is! The final destination of the night, boys! A dinner party!”

“An open bar!” Kerigo quipped from underneath Sparrow’s bicep, muffled out by the fur. “It’s your birthday, but I feel pretty thankful for this particular gift.”

“Only for the best for my best friends,” he purred happily and satisfied. Letting go of the group, each of them gasped for air and steadied their balance. Sparrow guffawed by how dramatic they were. They’d better get used to that quickly, Jack thought to himself. “Everyone else is already here, so make yourselves known, fellas! Everyone would love to hear about this, err, storm in the north.”

Eriq straightened out his sweater, pressing out the folds and dusting off the bugbear hair. “No, they won’t,” he commented quietly.

Eriq wore a simple, comfortable outfit. He wore a stiff, navy blue vest and short cloak over the shoulders. Underneath he had a clean, sharp undershirt with the top two buttons undone. His pants were fitting to his form and at mid-calf length. His new metallic addition peeked out from under the rim, and he frequently stood with that leg behind the other.

Paypur stepped up to the building first. He blinked, holding a finger below the sign and reading out the words in common. “It’s… The, Rainy, Harbor. Cute! I like it!”

Albeit without much change to it, Paypur wore his adventuring gear. The thin cloak draped over his shoulders and flowed down his back. His shirt and sleeves were long, and styled elven in nature. He wore ankle high boots that clicked with each step on the pavement. All of his outfit and accessories were in silver or black metal. Even his hair was done neatly, his usually wild look was now combed, curled, and styled into a cute haircut to frame his face. His locks bobbed with each step. Finally, with the added confidence his fine new look gave him, his tail wagged sheepishly behind his ankles.

“We’re familiar with it.” Kerigo cleared his throat, noticing how suddenly Hydra folded his shoulders in a defeated way. “Regardless, there’s more celebration to be had. Let’s go.”

Lakken had a similar sense of the occasion, as most of his gear, belts, equipment and accessories were still on his person. He wore no hood, but a dress coat of a sailor. It had a long collar, thus, creating the same sense of style. Though the top two buttons were as they always are, his shirt was tucked and without creases or cuts. From head to toe, his scales were clean and groomed. His work boots and tailcoat free of dirt or blood stains. This one of the few nights it would remain that way.

One after another, the group stepped in. Cadets and admirals alike, friends and potential enemies of Sparrow together, scattered throughout the large main room. The lights and magical lanterns glowed in shades of soft white or summer yellow. The party goers were dressed in all colors of the rainbow, and in variations of those hues. All of them were dressed fashionably and appropriately, many with their exploration base emblems on pins or coats. A majority of them were sat down at large tables. Every booth filled to the brim. And most importantly, their drinks and plates half empty, thus leaving the bar free and for the taking.

Sparrow slapped Hydra on the upper back so hard, it nearly sent him forward. “Enjoy the time and drinks together. After all we know, fellas, the state of the kingdom might not allow us a second chance next year.” And he sent the party on their way.

KERIGO LAKKEN

“Hey, Kerigo!” The bartender greeted the pair as they came to the bar. She made quick work of their requests, and continued down the line to help the crowd of party goers.

He chuckled to himself. Leaning his elbows onto the slab, he nodded his head as thanks to her. Turning back to Odin, he had rested his arm on the bar. Between Kerigo and his order.

Odin swayed his drink at the wrist. He held up a claw to Kerigo, suggesting for him to wait a moment. He spin on his stool until he faced Kerigo completely, and subtly leaned his head so that his eyes peered just from underneath the rim of his hat. “You know, darling,” Odin began slow, pausing for a moment to allow the bartender to move out of earshot. “It takes two hours of rigorous, passionate love making to work off a glass of this vodka you like. It’s pretty high in alcohol, after all.” The barbarian moved his claw to the glass. With his ring finger, he nudged it across the counter into Kerigo’s reach. He winked. Otherwise, he maintained a level composure. “I have plans after this.”

“Hm,” Kerigo grunted. He calmly accepted the drink. Observed it. Swirled the ice cubes around in it. As though to delve into thought. “I’m gonna need a lot more of these, then.” He chuckled with a sinister, sideways grin. Wagging his ring finger, he tipped the glass back. “You don’t take the opportunity to flirt a lot.”

Odin chuckled to himself. Clearing his throat after a healthy, burning swig of ale, he leaned his head back and regarded Kerigo with full attention and less lewd suggestion. “Usually, I don’t even need to.”

“Hmm, sure, I suppose I’m better at it.”

“You have more experience,” Odin commented in a low voice. He gestured to himself. “I was a cultist.”

Kerigo’s shoulders folded over. Those words felt equally as painful as the experiences themselves were sweet. “I… Let’s… Not talk about my experience. Let’s drink.”

PAYPUR CHAMBERLIN

Paypur tiptoed along the snack table. Careful to mind his tail when turning and ensuring each step was soft. A small heel make a great click on such perfect floors and echoing rooms. His cloaks made him stand out in the crowds. Even tall women with flowing gowns didn’t stand out as much as his styled, heavy cape. Thus, he was easy to spot for those looking for him.

Gantu stepped to his side just as Payp popped a piece of vegetarian sushi into his mouth. Halfway through eating, he answered before being questioned, “I didn’t do it.”

The dragonborn snickered slightly. He reached for a larger piece with shrimp tails and sauce. He threw the slice into his maw with so little care, he had the same demeanor of an okakapi. “Do you want to get something to drink? Make this night less mingling nonsense and more interesting.” Gantu glanced from the tables and foods before them, angling his head in the direction of the bar a few feet away.

Payp made a thoughtful hmm noise. Considering it. “Ehh, not there, no thanks. I don’t really like drinking unless it’s from my mom’s winery.” He took the opportunity to truly get a full look at the dragon in dress. Truly, this was his element.

Captain Gantu didn’t feel adventurous this evening, and thus chose the outfit and color that suits him best. His jacket and shirt were tailored specifically for him, and thus accentuated and complemented everything about his colors, fins and shapes. His deep v-neck shirt was laced at the sides in gold thread tied into bows. The jacket was at knee length in a typical Sea Exploration dressy way. It was dark pine green with accented silver along the zippers, edges and pockets. The additional latches and chains for his jacket hung loosely in a simultaneously lazy and professional, dressy way. Sea Exploration emblems commonly are worn at the broadest point on the back, nearly large enough to stretch shoulder to shoulder. But his jacket was open back for his fins, thus, he wore his silver and blue attack division emblem on his left shoulder.

The dragon waited. Impatiently.

“-Which I have, of course,” Paypur continued, reaching from behind his cloak and revealing that deep purple and red wine bottle. He swirled it around, teasing.

The Captain reached for the bottle by the neck. He considered the proposal. “It’s not full, but… It’ll do. It’s a little weird to bring your own alcohol to a gathering like this, however. Don’t you think?”

“It’s weird only if you’re a coward.”

“I’m a coward.” Gantu replied. He regarded the room, and thought for a moment. “I’ll tell you what. I know this place. We’ll compromise. Follow me.”

While Gantu turned to make his way, Payp put a hand out to hold. He paused. But in the moment after, he accepted the invitation and grasped Paypur by the palm. He pulled the tiefling along a few hallways and stairwells of the building. Along the way, he attempted asking ‘where are we going,’ and ‘what is this’ a few times. But to no avail, Gantu maintained his composure and continued onward. No party goers dared to stray far from the main room or man of the hour, but what’s a little detour between coworkers?

“Close your eyes, for a moment.”

Payp did as told. “Ooh, I didn’t know you were into this, Gantu.” He snickered, hearing Gantu hiss in protest.

“It’s not like that,” he sighed. “Just come.”

Truly grasping at each other for balance and guidance, Payp stepped up and around a few objects. He felt the hardwood floor no longer click. Breathing in, the air was saltier and colder. Wind licked at their lose jackets and cloaks.

“Okay, open.”

Paypur did so. He blinked a few times to truly take in the area. Looking to the tip of his shoes, they were standing on black, clay roof shingles. The Elviasa streets, buildings, trees and people were dwarfed in size. They were far away and far below where Payp stood. The torch street lights flickered and shuttered across the city. Burning low and dim, a thousand numbers strong. In contrast to the small, gentle street lights, the stars were beginning to twinkle in the night sky. A million strong. Shining brighter in the clear atmosphere. The moon was barely new. It hung like a sliver of string in the sky. He remained frozen in wonder, above the city and ocean, looking to it. “I-- Wait, Where are we?!”

Gantu sat, making himself comfortable. Minding Payp standing star struck, he folded his tail on the opposite side. “Just the roof of the Rainy Harbor. Look.” He pointed down to the sign, still swinging in the cold ocean breeze. Gantu folded his arms onto his knees, waiting for Payp to calm and sit beside him. “I would always climb onto roofs and high towers as a kid.”

“It’s beautiful. I can see why.”

“Sometimes it just, it was just something to do, though.”

Paypur clutched his cloak, holding it back from flipping and turning in the wind. He was still standing straight, hardly noticing Gantu settling. The view of the ocean here was too dear to let go of. The faint, soft crashing of waves tickling at the very edge of his hearing. The sharp, salty and fishy air of it lingered in his breath. His eyes traced along the horizon. Just beyond where the sun set hours ago. He thought of the land beyond. He thought of Ayami for a moment. Thinking to himself, he hoped Ayami was feeling warm in the sun. He hoped Ayami was okay. Is that so strange?

“Are you okay?” Gantu said.

The moment passed. Payp was back here, his mind’s curiosity satisfied. “I used to climb onto the trees around my granddad’s tree house.” Payp folded his legs underneath him, just beside the other. “There was one outside our forest. High above the rest beside the mountain range, East of the house. And when I got on top of it,” Payp continued, pulling his cloak over his body like a blanket comforter, “I could see the entire tree house, the entire winery… Our forest and our home.”

“That’s beautiful.”

“Yeah. It made me feel small. It made our home feel small, but weirdly special. But I saw Areona for the first time, too.”

Gantu leaned back and sat comfortably. Taking the wine bottle from Payp’s loose grip, he stuck his claw beneath the cork and forced it open. “Heh, and what did you think of Areona?”

Paypur took the bottle back and sipped it. “I thought it was huge. I thought it shadowed me and my home, and it made me feel even smaller. Not like I was scared of it, though. I was curious of it. I wanted to see more of it. Meet other people, see things…”

The other stayed silent. He listened to Payp speak in wonder, almost as though everything coming to mind was what crossed his tongue. It was like music to the ears. Magical to experience. “What do you think of Areona now?”

“I want to see more of it. Like I just did.”

ERIQUUS

“Is this… Is this enough of, what did Mr. Sparrow call it? This party? I don’t like this place.” Hydra had been making tiny hints of discomfort the whole night. Asking what time it was and when ‘parties’ end. Being around so many people, so many faces he had seen and hadn’t seen. Both were equally difficult to cope with. Hydra’s hair was clean, freshly cut and just conditioned. It was free of stray hairs. Otherwise, Hydra’s shifted form and sense of style were the same. He wore his kimono, but kept his lance at his side where it was comfortable to keep.

“We’re just here a bit longer, Kerigo’s probably done drinking. He’s had like, at least three.” He said slowly. He moved behind Hydra’s chair, slipping fingertips under the kimono, and setting his palms onto his shoulders. Gently massaging. Careful not to cut his claws into Hydra’s skin, Eriq pressed his fingers into the knots of his muscle.

Hydra cast his eyes down and tensed his shoulders. “Eriq, not here. Not here. Lechnka, I feel sick.” He pulled his thick locks over his shoulder, and ran his fingers through them.

Eriq immediately took his hands off of Hydra. “O-oh. What did I...?”

“I don’t like it here. I don’t feel welcome. I feel sick,” Hydra said again, wrinkling his nose in response to the heavy aroma of alcohol, sweets, snacks, and meats. He pinched the bridge of his nose, then covered his face. “Just… Let me have a moment.”

Agreeing, Eriq stepped back. Hydra turned his attention over his shoulder, hands still tugging at his soft locks of hair. A look in the back of his eye apologized. Apologizing for the inconvenience, the miscommunication, for his sickness. He stood. Eriq took another, larger step back. Hydra moved to the Rainy Harbor exit, and left for the street.

Eriquus watched the door latch. That was the only thing he heard for a moment. After the moment passed, the world came back to him, and the polite chatter of the crowds around continued. As though nothing had happened. What did happen? What is happening? The dragon pulled his sleeves down, and hurried for the door opposite of the room. Putting his hand around the door knob, he hesitated only slightly. He opened it.

Stepping through the threshold of the door, Eriq pressed his palm flat to it, closing it behind him. The ‘click noise’ caused a stir in a person at the far end of the deck. Seosul stood with her back to Eriq, but she jolted upon hearing a sound. Her senses alert, she turned to see who joined her outside. Wearing a pine green halter dress and long silver earrings, a single shift of balance sent her skirt into curls at the knee and jewelry to tangle with her hair. “Good evening.”

“Hey, Seosul. Anchor. I- Admiral Anchor.”

She pressed her back to the guard rail and folded her hands behind her. She smiled once, “That’s okay, I...” she paused. “I’m not in uniform. How are you settling back into Elviasa?”

“It’s better than the alternative... and I love listening to the sea.” They allowed a brief breath between words, just to listen to the waves crash beyond the railing for a moment. “How are you?”

“It’s great,” she responded, a bit too prepared to answer. “Very few of our sailors ever contracted this plague after the monster attacks. Those who do, however, are under low-intensity duty, with regular check ups from the Light Magic students around.” She absentmindedly twirled a finger around her dress skirt. “Twenty-seven sailors all each received their fitting prosthetics from Ms. Hyo. Our people are taken care of, as always, so... It’s great. Outstanding, even.”

Eriq blinked. “I asked ‘how are you?’ So how are you, Seosul?”

She bristled ever slightly. She pursed her lips, embarrassed, forcing expression back to neutral just after. “I’m outstanding, Eriquus.”

“I… good to hear.”

“If you’ll excuse me.” Admiral Anchor nodded her head slow, regarding him with a respectful bow of the head. Then she moved past him back into the party.

How odd of her.

Eriq couldn’t help but sigh once the area was safe enough to. He threaded his fingers through his fur. Finding comfort in the feeling. His feet wandered around the outer seating area, tracing his steps around the dark wood tables and chairs just as he did a few weeks prior. Just before… This spot is where I… Where he– Then he placed his hands on the guard rail. Steadying his balance and calming the rising unease in his mind. He sighed again.

Eyes rising to the horizon, Eriq glanced around and took in the atmosphere. The ocean felt strangely empty after being beneath it. The waves rolled into the shore. Flowing across the sand like a cup about to spill over. Standing just at the edge, in the sea foam and sandy beaches, was a humanoid figure walking along it. Completely unaware of those watching above. Their shoulders relaxed and demeanor neutral. Their thin tail trailed at the back of their heel, curling at the very end so as to not dip into the water. No other defining features to their silhouette in the moonlight.

Wait. Eriq leaned over the railing. Bending at the hip, he squinted. There was a tiny glow to their face. A golden metallic shine around a curve to the point, like a hook. A golden hook.

Eriq hurried out of the party and to the beach, catching up to the leisurely character in a few moments. He came to a halt to fast, he threw a cloud of sand into the air and sunk into it. He wondered how it might feel through both feet, between all his talons, balancing on the back of his heel. The bits of sand hit the back of this person’s pant leg, and they came to attention. They turned.

“Oh. Oh!” A smile cracked across Sergeant Sipian’s face. His eyes bobbed from Eriq’s up to down, toe to horn tip. “Hey, Eriq. You look nice.”

The man was dressed with surprising detail. His leather dress shoes shined, blemished only by the sand on the sole. He wore jet black slacks and striped white suspenders, a tucked in buttoned shirt underneath. All so iron pressed there wasn’t a single crease in his entire wardrobe. Not even a button- all of which were fastened- or thread of fabric was out of place. This was the sharpest Eriq had ever seen the man. He could hardly recognize the sergeant.

“Sipian. I- what are you doing out here?” Eriq asked. He stuttered, noticing the invasive tone of his voice. He corrected, more slowly, “I… You know there’s a uh, an open bar, right?”

The tiefling bared his teeth in a chuckle. “Yeah, I know. I said hello to Admiral Sparrow, but, I’m just not feeling a party right now.”

“Me neither.”

Silence fell. They just accepted the other’s presence. The mere closeness, standing ten feet apart, was enough comfort in contrast to the Rainy Harbor packed back to front.

“Can I join you?”

Resting his hands low into his pockets, Sipian rolled his head back, and glanced down the far side of the beach. He offered a sideways smile. A crook of the expression that shifted the light on his face, and the shine in his hook. Eriquus took the invitation in a heartbeat.

They caught up. Moving through the motions of ‘how’s it going’s and ‘it’s going.’ Things are happening, whether they will it to or not. They had that in common. But as Eriq’s voice lowered upon mention of Hydra, Sipian made no moves to reply. He just listened to the voice Eriq put out there.

“I need some advice.” Eriq folded his arms together, tight to his sides. Every gust of wind that shuddered through him made him feel right at home. Eriq wasn’t sure if home was supposed to feel good or bad in that moment.

Sipian made a small, choked laughing noise in the back of his throat. “You’re coming to me for advice? Me? Damn, I’m sorry. How many other people have you asked?” As he spoke, he was combing through the sand in search of flat rocks or seashells. He found one from the sand. Pulling his arm back and rotating at the hip, he sent the rock skipping across the calm sea water until it sank.

Eye tracing the ripples of water out to sea, Eriq simmered. His claws gently tugged at his vest, and sat down in the sand. “Just you, actually,” he replied quietly.

The tiefling’s improper posture froze. “Oh.” He straightened. Then invited himself to take a spot in the sand just beside the snow dragon. “What’s… What’s wrong?”

“Everything’s been really different since I was last here. A lot happened, and… A lot has happened. I don’t know how to fix any of it. I don’t know what to do, or even how to feel about some of it.” Eriq was hesitant to relax for a moment, reluctant to mess his outfit too much. But after a few moments, he let the stress of his body flow out. He stretched his legs and tail straight outward. Eriq paused, and let himself listen to the waves again. Without meaning to, his eyes fell to the metal half of himself. The paint has been worn and scratched off in small places. Dull white revealed the shiny, metallic, empty shell underneath. “I feel like Hydra doesn’t want to touch me because of this. Like he’s scared. I want to hold him but every time I do, it’s like it hurts him.”

Sipian made a frustrated groan. “Tell me about it.” He tensed unconsciously, and the gears in his robotic arm whirred as though to speak for the words he wasn’t saying.

“And it’s Hydra. A literal beast with the softest touch, and he’s scared to embrace me. Absolutely terrified,” Eriq trailed off, planting his palms to his thighs. Feeling along the fabric and loathing how different each felt. “Even when we’re… together…. I love it, but I think I’m a little scared too.”

Samael watched Eriq in his peripherals. His shoulder facing the dragon, like completely seeing the brunt of that pain Eriq held in his hands and chest was a bit too much to bear. He tilted his head upward. “When I, personally, got my limbs torn off… In that darkest moment of my life, fighting for it... and felt all my blood dilute into the seawater, experiencing just what one imagines it’s like to feel one’s soul leaving their body… In a slow, gruesome-”

“Sipian, this isn’t helping.”

“-Hang on. When I felt like I was dead, or I sure was gonna be, I was sad.”

Eriq’s attention shifted suddenly to Sipian. He raised a brow, confused. “Sad?”

“Mmhm. I was sad. Because I knew Seosul was going to blame herself for not protecting me. Did you feel that?”

That gave Eriq pause. He took a deep breath, putting himself back into that feeling. A dark moment, blood flowing out the wound like life out of a body. He winced as that memory put himself through the exact pain again. “I… I did.”

“Hydra blames himself for not protecting you. And… that’s all he’s following; a sense of protection. Sometimes distance is how people show closeness. Sometimes distance is love.”

Eriquus’s breath shook and shuttered. He steadied himself after running through a long, brutal memory. He put his hand to his chest. Slowing the beat of his panicked heart. Calming, he finally spoke. He repeated, “Distance is love.” Eriq looked up to Sipian who still faced the open ocean. He was serene. Cool. His head and eyes were straight, like he was searching for something at the far side of the world. Yet, his thoughts and his mind were here. His heart was here. “Do you love Seosul?”

Sipian smiled. Blinking a few times and casting his eyes down to his feet, he was quiet as he regarded the question. The slow tide licked at the front of his shoes. He found the strength to meet Eriq in the eye, and feel that pain. He opened his mouth to speak.

#a writing dabble

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jennifercrowart · 3 years

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D&D Diary - The Yawning Rodent, 15

Sunless Citadel spoilers!

Aelia finds a few spell scrolls, as well as a mantle of some more valuable items; gem stones, Belak's stash of gold, a glove with a rune on the back of the hand, and a silver circlet inlaid with a sapphire. Meanwhile, Deku goes through the bookshelves, and finds several titles placed closer to the desk that look more heavily used. One is called Born to Die, a book in Common about the Druidic theories of the life and death cycle. There's also Treasures of the Fire Lords, a collection of ancient journals written in Elven, and, finally, his stolen library book Cults Around the World.

Cults Around the World:

True to the title, it details several cults around the world. One such cult is called the Cult of the Dragon, also known as the Keepers of the Secret Hoard, who lived in the Sunless Citadel for 1400 years, until the Cataclysm. The citadel was once called Maetrine Keep, home to a powerful vampire called Illythia. The cult took over, but were a secretive and shadowy group. It's said that a huge red dragon could be seen about the citadel during the cult's reign. The cult is said to have perished when the Sunless Citadel - along with other citadels across the continent - sunk beneath the earth during the Cataclysm 800 years ago.

The Vampire Diaries:

The Treasures of the Fire Lords book is worse for wear now, but what remains seems to be writing in Common matching the annotations in the vampire diaries - Belak's writing, research notes on his experiments on Chadley, McKennedeigh, and Bradley. It mentions that Chadley was experimented on differently to the latter two, and Valas and Deku are concerned to hear this - unsure if Chadley is currently ok at the Rat's Nest.

They have the chance to inspect some of the potentially-magic items they'd picked up recently. The gold circlet with metal woven into flames and a ruby in the centre is called the Circlet of Ignition, which lets the wearer cast the 2nd-level spell Flame Blade once per day. The silver circlet with delicate weaving and a sapphire is the Sojourner's Circlet of Rituals, giving the wearer advantage on maintaining concentration during ritual spells. Lastly, the butler-looking glove is The Master's Glove, which can be used to cast Unseen Servant once per day. On the inside of the Sojourner's Circlet of Rituals are etchings in Dwarven, which read, "Made in the Glitterhame caverns of Khundrukar. Quality assured!"

Aelia eagerly claims the Circlet of Ignition, Deku takes the Sojourner's Circlet of Rituals, and Lugs takes The Master's Glove.

They think this is Illythia's skeleton - the corpse of the slain vampire who initially built this citadel before the Cult of the Dragon moved in.

Lugs breaks off the steak from the rest of the tree that grew from it, while Deku also takes some samples of bone and bark just in case. With nothing else of note, they begin heading back to the well shaft so they can leave the Sunless Citadel.

They reach the well shaft that is their only known path to the upper level of the citadel, and Lurk climbs on ahead to scout. Lugs takes a barrel and some chains from the laboratory they passed through, combining them with rope to make a big bucket his fire snake can climb into while he carries them up. Unable to carry both the fire snake and McKennedeigh, however, he opts to leave his heavy water barrel behind for the time being, and offers Aelia 100 gold to help him carry his fire snake, which she hesitantly accepts.

When Lurk reaches the top, he telepathically communicates to Aelia and Valas (as he can only do so with 2 people at a time) that he set his two hunting traps at the base of the shaft. He tells Lugs that in Grung, so the bandits around them don't understand. When the bandits and guard reach the bottom, those up top hear pained screams. The elite guard calls up that it was trapped, and that one of the bandits is badly hurt. Having used this to wipe out even just 3 of Yusdrayl's followers, the party readies to fight her as their betrayal is revealed!

#the yawning rodent #dnd #dnd 5e #dungeons and dragons #dnd diary #dnd diaries #dm diary #dm diaries #session diary #session diaries

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