| Current Turn? | No |  | Subject: | The Star Sprite |
| Campaign: | Spelljammer | | Turn Start Date: | 5/14/606 |
| Adventure: | Citadel of Fire | | Turn End Date: | 5/14/606 |
| Adventure Number: | 6 | | Characters: | Barnas, KC , Martin Vane, Morty Crystaltouched, Pellanistra Xarann, Shaarilla, Syllivarrna Obanghall, Tyra Stellastrom |
| Turn Number: | 5.4 | | Send To: | bluemountain@championsoftheempire.com; kc.starsprite@gmail.com; mghaught@gmail.com |
| Greyhawk Campaign? | No | | Combat Turn? | No |
| Name | Lethal | NL | Current | END | PROT | LOW | DEF | ROF | Flash | Heal | Luck Pts | Fate Pts | |
| Barnas | 0 | 0 | 57/57 | /0 | 7 | 1 | 34 | 0 | /0 | 1/day | 2/2 | 1/1 | |
| KC | 0 | 0 | 48/48 | /0 | 6 | 3 | 42 | 2 | /0 | 1/day | 1/1 | /0 | |
| Martin Vane | 0 | 0 | 46/46 | /0 | 10 | 3 | 45 | 10 | /0 | 1/day | 2/2 | 1/1 | |
| Morty Crystaltouched | 0 | 0 | 46/46 | /0 | 5 | 0 | 49 | 0 | 1/1 | 1/day | 2/2 | 0/1 | |
| Pellanistra Xarann | 0 | 0 | 55/55 | 8/8 | 8 | 0 | 68 | 12 | /0 | 1/day | 1/1 | /0 | |
| Shaarilla | 0 | 0 | 33/33 | /0 | 4 | 0 | 24 | 0 | 1/1 | 1/day | 2/2 | 1/1 | |
| Syllivarrna Obanghall | 0 | 0 | 58/58 | /0 | 6 | 2 | 43 | 10 | /0 | 1/day | 2/2 | 1/1 | |
| Tyra Stellastrom | 0 | 0 | 74/74 | 6/6 | 10 | 3 | 62 | 12 | /0 | 1/day | 2/2 | 1/1 | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Mage/Psioncist Name | Psionic Pts | Spell Pts | Spell Pool | Miscellaneous Information |
| KC | / | 9/9 | 9/9 | |
| Martin Vane | / | 7/7 | 9/9 | |
| Morty Crystaltouched | / | 11/11 | 9/9 | |
| Shaarilla | / | 19/19 | 25/25 | |
| Syllivarrna Obanghall | / | 9/9 | 12/12 | |
| | | | |
| Barnas | Cleric Pool (11/11) |
| KC | |
| Martin Vane | |
| Morty Crystaltouched | |
| Pellanistra Xarann | |
| Shaarilla | |
| Syllivarrna Obanghall | |
| Tyra Stellastrom | |
|
About 30 minutes after Barnas, KC, Syl and Tyra departed to seek out Aurora the Minstrel, Martin is lounging in the pilot's seat, which is usually occupied by Shaarilla when the Star Sprite is in motion. Lani is resting in the cabin while Shaarilla and Morty are on the tiny after deck discussing general topics including spelljamming. Martin sees three men walking unhurriedly across the aerodrome towards the Star Sprite. Not particularly alarmed, Martin nevertheless lets the others know that some men are approaching. Lani wakes up and dons her equipment while Morty and Shaarilla stand to watch the men approaching.
MORTY: Instinctively Morty hides, sitting on his Star Shield ready to hover out over the fight if one happens, and peeks out at them when he finds a decent vantage, not giving away his position or what little advantage he might have from surprise.
As they get closer, the group can see that the man in the lead is some sort of government official whom they have seen at the Aerodrome office while the other two are city guards. As they get close, Martin asks, "what brings you to our small spelljammer this dark evening?"
The man replies, "My name is Guilermo Faeth and I am the watch commander of the aerodrome tonight. I'm here to investigate a complaint that the Star Sprite was stolen from its rightful owners by you and your friends."
MORTY (OOC): From whom? First question is who's filing the complaint...
GM: Since this was OOC I assume that Morty is not actually asking the question. I will assume he is sitting on his Star Shield on the small afterdeck ready to fly if needed. Shaarilla is also back there so Morty could suggest that she ask the question. That is what I will assume unless you say otherwise.
SHAARILLA (OOC): Does Shaarilla remember anything about the rules of possession when exploring the depths of the Spelljammer? As the daughter of a guard, I’d expect Shaarilla to know if so treasure hunting in unexplored areas was against the rules of the ship.
GM: Understanding the laws of possession is a part of Administration skill but those with Everything Lore can attempt a roll to see what they know. If it makes sense for Shaarilla to have some Administration skill due to her background, feel free to buy a rank or two.
GM: Everyone can make a Character Judgment roll. If you don't have the skill, then just send a roll with no bonus (i.e., skillroll+0).
LANI: No character judgment skill so base roll [rolled 153 (Success)]
MORTY: As requested [rolled 22 (Failure)]
SHAARILLA: [rolled 45 (Failure)]
MARTIN: Skill for character judgement: [rolled 79 (Partial Success)]
GM: I plan to send the next turn tomorrow. Just need a Character Judgment roll from Martin and Administration/Everything Lore rolls from Martin, Morty and Shaarilla.
SHAARILLA: Added to levels of Administration, it fits with both her parents being in different branches of civil service [rolled 41 (Failure)]
MORTY TECH: Everything lore [rolled 30 (Failure)]
MARTIN: Everything Lore (10%) for knowledge of legalities regarding possession of a spelljammer: [rolled 57]
Morty and Shaarilla have no idea what to make of this strange turn of events. Clearly the Star Sprite had been abandoned for a long period of time when the group came across her deep in the bowels of Spelljammer with Brute Force hard on their heels. They had taken the ship and sailed away to safety.
In studying the watch commander, Martin senses deeper issues but doesn't know what to make of them.
No one is quite sure what the laws are that pertain to this sort of issue.
GM: Since Shaarilla did not confirm that she was going to ask the question that Morty voiced, about the origin of the complaint, I will hold off on asking it. Obviously it can be asked at any time.
Guilermo continues speaking. "What I need from each of you is your story about how you came to be in possession of the ship. Or, if you have some sort of ownership papers that are recognized in the kingdom, then I can take a look at those instead."
LANI: "We have no such papers but can certainly tell you the story of how we came into possession of the ship. We were on Spelljammer..."
As Lani begins to launch into the story, Guilermo cuts her off and says, "I need to hear it from each of you separately before you have time to confer. If you would like to go first, simply step down to the ground here, we will move a short distance away, and you can tell me your story while the guards watch the others and prevent them from speaking to each other. I know that there are eight of you so I will get the story from the three of you now and then wait for the others to return and get their story.
GM: Guilermo has not seen Morty yet so mistakenly believes that only Martin, Lani and Shaarilla are aboard.
LANI: "We have nothing to hide." She seems unconcerned as she leaps lightly down to the ground and follows Guilermo a short distance away.
The others see the two conferring for a short time, with Lani doing most of the talking and Guilermo interspersing an occasional question. After a few minutes, the two return. Guilermo looks at Shaarilla and Martin and asks, "who wants to go next?"
Martin goes next. He drops off the side of the Star Sprite and lands on the grassy field. He follows Guilermo a short distance away where the bureaucrat asks him questions about how the group came in possession of the spelljammer. Martin tells him about the chase through Spelljammer and the group finding the Star Sprite in a massive deck filled with old, abandoned and decrepit spelljammers. He tells of Brute Force being hot on their heals. He answers Guilermo's questions to the best of his ability reasoning that there is no real secret about how the group came in possession of the ship. When finished, the two return to the Star Sprite and it is Shaarilla's turn. She tells the same tale as best as she can remember it and answers his questions. Then they return to the ship.
GM: Is Morty going to come out of hiding and tell his story as well?
MORTY: Feeling a bit 'thrown under the bus' as the others tell their stories, I will come out as they finish with Shaarilla. I'm nervous that they will have more pointed questions for me since I managed to open up several of the secret panels and machines to allow our progress toward the Star Sprite. Hopefully I can gloss it over as nothing special. "I want your word that you will not share anything of what we tell you with the violent thugs that were chasing us through the Spelljammer, ideally with no one at all since we have no way to know what might get back to them. Who lodged this complaint against us, anyway?"
Guilermo reacts in typical bureaucratic fashion to Morty's demand that he not share any of the information with the violent thugs, responding, "you are in no position to make demands of me."
Equally frustrating, but wholly expected, Guilermo's response to Morty's question about who lodged the complaint is, "I will ask the questions here."
Morty is not good at reading people but he is good and thinking things through. Even as he is telling Guilermo of the group's liberation of the Star Sprite, he wonders what is behind it and who did lodge the complaint. The most obvious answer is Brute Force but what did they hope to achieve? Another possibility is someone who once owned the Star Sprite but lost it in the distant past. Maybe they saw the ship at the aerodrome and decided to try to get it back through bureaucratic means. A third possibility is that someone saw the ship and decided to try to acquire it by these means but that seems less likely.
But the most likely answer in Morty's mind is Brute Force. Perhaps they bribed Guilermo to open this investigation but that does not seem like them. From what Morty knows of Brute Force, they would be more likely to confiscate the ship by attacking and taking it away. So why lodge a complaint?
Morty finishes telling his story and then answers the obvious and somewhat idiotic questions that Guilermo poses to him. He holds his temper and keeps things low key knowing that the bureaucrat will probably use any hint of resistance to confiscate the ship. When finished, they return to the ship.
"You clearly rehearsed this fairy tale of a story about how you came by the Star Sprite but there are enough holes in your story that I will investigate further. For example," he adds consulting his notes, "two of you said that seven members of Brute Force following you while the other two said there were eight." He adds a couple more inconsistencies that, in the mind of a fair-minded person, would simply be normal inconsistencies from a chaotic situation but Guilermo is using them as excuses.
"You are not to leave Fangora until his matter is settled," Guilmero commands the group and then he stalks off followed by the two city guardsmen. As the group watches them depart, they see the rest of the group approaching. With them is Aurora the Minstrel whom some members of the group have seen in the various bars and taverns of Fangora over the past couple of months.
When the group arrives, Martin brings them up to date on what just occurred.
GM: Feel free to discuss the puzzling episode of the complaint.
SYL: Wishes she had been present to be able to judge Guilmero to see if he was just being a bureaucratic PITA or actively trying to block our leaving for another reason.
SYL: Why lodge a complaint? In order to go past us and find the Amber Key is the answer that leaps to mind or at least lock us in place until the accuser (Brute Force most likely) can catch up with us... A few options to discuss with Aurora since she has been here longer than us: 1. Penalties for leaving without Port Authority permission -- i.e. ask for forgiveness if we ever come back rather than permission now. 2. Go over Guilmero's head to his supervisor with the people in the party that can sing the birds out of the trees :) 3. If we do leave abruptly, are there places between here and Archeron to re-supply if necessary?
LANI: "I think he was bought. I doubt that he has much authority to do much based on so little information."
AURORA: When Aurora hears what the issue is about, she laughs and says, "They say possession is nine tenths of the law. They didn't leave any guards to keep you from leaving so I doubt there will be much of a fuss if you depart. It sounds like some sort of stall tactic though to what purpose I can't say as I don't know the history here. As for places to resupply between here and Archeron, no there are not." She looks over the tiny spelljammer and then adds, "I don't know what sort of jump capability your ship has but it is possible to jump straight to Archeron from here if your astrogator is skilled enough. If not there is an empty asteroid called Alley Rock that is about halfway between here and Archeron - about a thousand miles from here. Also, if you are not aware, Archeron itself is in the Void so you will need some means of breathing. I don't have that ability myself so if you cannot provide breathable air then I will need to keep looking for a way to get there."
LANI: "Shaarilla and Syl, what are the limits of the Star Sprite. Can it jump 2000 miles to Archeron? If not, can it jump 1000 miles to Alley Rock and then another 1000 miles to Archeron?"
GM: Just a reminder of the abilities of Star Sprite. The spelljammer can do a maximum jump of up to 10,000 miles but that assumes a Spelljammer Astrogator of rank 7 or higher. At rank 6, the astrogator could jump the 2000 miles straight to Archeron. However, the group's most highly skilled astrogator is only rank 4 right now so is limited to a safe jumping distance of 800 miles.
In further conversation with Aurora, the group learns that while Archeron is located deep within the void, with no air to breathe, Alley Rock is in the phlogiston and air is available. And while it is beyond the current astrogation capabilities of the group, the void starts about 250 miles north of Fangora so the group could proceed towards Alley Rock until they are within 800 miles, and then jump. After leaving Alley Rock, you would need to approach Archeron at a tangent to get closer to it before you would be within 800 miles. During this time, you would be in the phlogiston and air would be available. Once you arrived at Archeron, air would not be available so you would need spells to create air. The inhabited portions of Archeron are all underground where air is available.
You also learn that Alley Rock gets its name because it is an asteroid in an "alley" of phlogiston between two massive areas of void.
A very important piece of information that you learn is that Archeron will not show up on the ship's spelljamming helm. It is invisible to the helm making it difficult to jump there. Skilled astrogators who know exactly where Archeron is located can get around this by either traveling there directly through the void or risking a blind jump. Aurora tells you that if you were to gain permission to visit Archeron, then some sort of magic would be provided that would make Archeron visible to the helm for a short time. Archeron has a kind of underground embassy in Fangora. Aurora does not know the precise location - only that it exists so the group would have to try to locate the embassy.
GM: I know the group will want to ask Aurora more about Archeron itself, and I will provide that information in time. For now, you should know that within Archeron is a very large drow city. It might work out to the group's advantage that the main astrogator for the group is Syl, who is also a drow. Even though she was not born at Archeron, the fact that she is a drow may provide some advantage. And, in case it matters, Lani is also a drow elf.
SYL: Might the other (not so wholesome) person that KC met be the kind of person that might know about this embassy??
TYRA: "It seems like our path is set before us now. Let's go through the pieces we need to figure out."
TYRA: "First would be the guards and their 'investigation'. If they are indeed stalling then we don't want to waste our time waiting around. Do you think we need to leave immediately, within the next 8 hours, or that we have more like days?"
TYRA: "Breathable air. Shaarilla, how long can you provide that? I think it's good to know what are current limitations are there."
TYRA: "Gaining permission to visit Archeron sounds like the toughest piece. Aurora, any suggestions there beyond subtlely inquiring with other drow we may encounter? Is there something we can bring there, such as cargo or a passenger, that might make it easier to get that permission?"
SHAARILLA: Shaarilla does some math in her head, and comes up with “If I’m not using spell energy for anything else, and if my wand is fully charged, I could provide air for 9 people for 17 hours. But piloting the Star Sprite would subtract from that time.”
SHAARILLA: “That’s been my biggest concern, so I’ve been practicing with Sphere of Fresh Air until I can cast it reliably. When you’re running out of air isn’t the time to fumble a spell."
GM: Those with Streetwise skill can make an Establish Underground Contact roll to see if they have made any contacts with someone who might know of a drow embassy. They can also make a Streetwise Observation roll to see if they have already heard about some sort of underground drow embassy.
KC: I don't think that we should contact Kolimar. I would just rather stay away from him. He has a lot of connections and maybe even with Brute Force. Some one here already tried to get us for Brute Force. I will see if I can get anything on the assembly. He will go out and see what he can find. If Sly and or Lani want to come I think it may help. I can speak Drow but not that well (Rank 4). Well since it is a Drow assembly I would think that we could find out mostly from the Drow in town.
Streetwise: Find Contact roll of [rolled 201 (Absolute Success)].
Streetwise: Observation roll of [rolled 133 (Success)].
GM: During the two months that the group has spent in Fangora, KC has already made a number of contacts including some who might know of the Drow embassy in Fangora. In fact, KC has heard of a drow embassy but did not attach any significance to it until he heard the new information from Aurora. The two contacts that seem mostly likely are both drow elves.
GM: The first is a drow elf named Emorio the Black whom he met at a small emporium specializing in small craftsmen tools often used by jewelers and specialty blacksmiths. Emorio is a talkative elf who introduced himself to KC as a specialty jeweler. KC interpreted this to mean that he would purchase jewelry that may have been procured by less than legal means and reuse the gems and redesign the jewelry so that it could be resold. Emorio had mentioned that he was not originally from Fangora but from a very large drow city.
GM: The second is a drow elf named Phantorum whom KC met in a tavern at the edge of the Aerodrome. KC got into conversation with him because he wanted to practice his drow. Thinking back on the conversations that KC had with Phantorum, he recalls the elf saying that he was from a drow city not far away. KC didn't think much about this at the time, assuming "not far away" meant a drow kingdom that was relatively close to the Kingdom of Celestian. He also remembers that Phantorum was looking to get any sort of passage out of Fangora and preferably far away from the Kingdom of Celestian. KC asked him why and he mentioned that he had some powerful enemies that he wanted to get far away from.
GM: When he thinks about his conversations with Emorio and Phantorum in light of this new information, he now wonders if perhaps both of them are from Archeron.
KC: Here are some ways to save on the air in the spheres. If Sharilla takes the back the necklace adaptation ( person can last 7 in an environment without air) she will be able to use the helm of the starsprite while outside the sphere of fresh air. Then KC can shrink down in size so that he has smaller lungs and will need less air than the others. He also has a spell of lasting breath that will allow some one to hold there breath for 4 to 16 rounds.
SHAARILLA: The Sphere of Fresh Air is centered on the castor when cast. The idea above could work if Shaarilla occasionally left the pilot seat four to go to the center of the Star Sprite to recast the spell Also other character could use her Spell Want, doesn’t require attunement or magery skill to use, just knowledge of the keyword (which Shaarilla can share). This spell is the reason Shaarilla bought a Spell Wand in the first place.
LANI: "It sounds like we will primarily rely on Shaarilla for air but KC can provide air for short scouting missions that don't last more than a few minutes."
SYL: I can cast Star Life as well. 45% chance but if she stores one in her spell store that will provide another option.
BARNAS: When they have a private moment Barnas shares what he learned from the High Priest of Thoth.
BARNAS: "High Priest Calver was interested in what knowledge I was seeking. I told him about our quest for the Spelljammer keys. He put some of the temple staff on a research assignment to find out what they could. He informed me of what they have found out so far earlier today."
BARNAS: "There appears to be a total of 6 Spelljammer keys. Three gems and three metallic. As we already knew one key leads to another. After we find the Amber key, research suggests that the next one is the Gold Key. So far the only thing they found about its possible location is that it might be in the Gateway Kingdom."
BARNAS: "I know it is not a lot but they are going to keep looking. This means if we want to check back in with them we need to figure out how to handle our legal issues."
LANI: "It's good to know how many total keys we need. I agree that we should return here after Archeron to see what else they may have learned. Has anyone heard of the Gateway Kingdom?"
GM: Those with Phlogiston Lore - Putarrhan Sector can attempt a lore roll.
SYL TECH: Putarrhan Lore [rolled 98 (Near Success)]
SHAARILLA (TECH): Missed sending this. Phlogiston Lore - Putarrhan Sector [rolled 49 (Failure)]
MORTY TECH: Same, forgot to include it. [rolled 104 (Near Success)]
KC: Phlogiston Lore - Putarrhen Sector rolled a [rolled -25 (Absolute Failure)] for information on the Gateway Kingdom.
GM: Syl has heard of the Gateway Kingdom. It is located in the Putarrhan sector. She recalls that it is called the Gateway Kingdom because magical portals connect the various worlds of the kingdom. This was done because spelljammer travel between the worlds is dangerous or impossible though Syl does not know what makes travel dangerous.
GM: Morty has also heard of Gateway Kingdom and knows that it is about 15 million miles away from the Kingdom of Celestian. It also occurs to Morty that if the group plans to go there, they will need to procure a better spelljammer. The Star Sprite might be able to get them there but it could easily take a year and, while air would not be an issue, they would run out of water and food.
KC: Will go talk with Emorio the Black. I will ask them when it is safe to from any ears, using both Thieves Kant and Drow; about the Drow assembly and how to get an audience with them. As my associates need to head towards or to Archeron and have found out that it is best to be invited there or the only way and easiest way is through invitation. I will gladly part with a few coins to help garner the information and if he can help facilitate getting a meeting with the Assembly. I would also like to find out what it would be like there once we got there being Foreigners and all. Any pointers he can give me would be appreciated.
KC: Will go around the Aerodrome looking for Phanturm after talking to Emorio. He will either ask about the Drow assembly and getting an introduction to them if Emorio can not. Otherwise he will see what he can find out about Archeron and the what it is like for foreigners there. And if that is the way he needs to go we can take him if we are invited to go by the assembly. (Privately a believe that his powerful enemies are there and he wants to get farter away Archeron.)
KC: Of Course Lani and Syl or anyone else can come along, but I wound suggest just a few of us only.
TYRA: Upon hearing the contacts KC has already made, Tyra is approving of him seeking both out. "I wonder if offering Phantorum passage would be useful to get us to Archeron. Any concerns about that?"
TYRA: "As for our issue with rightful ownership of the Star Sprite, I think we should be ready to take off at a moment's notice. Let's pick a meeting place and time of the day that we can use if we need to depart while someone is out in the city. What sort of supplies do we have and do we need to tend to that before we take off? Let's go over all that so we can depart in haste once we have what we need."
KC, Syl and Tyra head out into the city the next evening. There has been no further word from Guilermo regarding the complaint against the them. Nevertheless, the group spends the morning making sure the Star Sprite is fully provisioned for a trip if they need to leave quickly.
Aurora departed the following evening with the group agreeing to provide transport for her to Archeron if they were able to get the necessary permit. They agreed on a price of 250 sp. Not a large amount but then, the group is hardly in position to provide her with a private cabin for the trip. The group is more interested in learning more about Archeron from the minstrel.
KC finds Emorio the Black with a few discreet inquiries that lead him to a small inn near the center of Fangora. KC introduces Tyra and Syl to the dark elf and even switches momentarily to the drow language for the introductions before switching back to Putarrhan. KC tells Emorio that their group is looking to travel to Archeron but has heard that some sort of travel permit from a Drow embassy located in Fangora will make the trip easier.
EMORIO: "Yes, not only will it make it easier, it will make it possible. I think you mentioned that you had a spelljammer but you will find that Archeron will not show up on your helm if you do not have the magical permission of Archeron to travel there. I am originally from there and am not looking to go back. If you are not noble born on Archeron then you are a nobody which makes me a nobody. I won't ask why you want to go there but will tell you that the embassy you speak of is located about two blocks from here but does not advertise. You will need to convince them to give you a permit to which they will ask why you want to travel there." Emorio winks and then add, "500 reasons or so should be more than enough. Make sure you talk to Andulichia when you provide the reasons."
GM: Let me know if you want to head to embassy next or go seek out Phantorum. From talking to him before, KC does not think he has any interest in going back to Archeron and, in fact, wants to put a lot more distance between himself and Archeron.
TYRA (OOC): Ah. When I originally read about the conversation with Phantorum, I interpreted his looking to get away was from Fangora but didn't include Archeron as part of that. Good to know.
TYRA: Tyra is fine with heading to the embassy next. I would still like to know more about Archeron so talking to either Emoria or Phantorum could yield useful info. Since time is of the essence, I don't know if it's worth dragging things out.
GM: I plan to send the next turn tomorrow. My assumption is that the group is okay asking for Andulichia and offering a 500 sp bribe to get the permits. The alternative is to try to convince them that you have legitimate business on Archeron but that usually means taking trade goods that are wanted there or that you have specific business with one of the noble houses. You could also start with a lower bribe. This is where someone with Bribery skill would come in handy. Since no one has it, this could provide justification to buy a rank.
KC, Syl and Tyra depart the inn where they had met with Emorio the Black and follow his directions to the Drow Embassy about two blocks away. The building appears to be a nondescript tenement. It has two floors and a single entrance from the street. All of the street side windows are barred on both levels but, looking around, other buildings have similar bars, no doubt to keep thieves out.
The door is locked so KC knocks quietly. After a minute, KC knocks again just as quietly. A few seconds later, the door opens and a burly human wearing leather armor opens the door a crack. A sturdy chain bridges the gap in the crack to prevent the door from being kicked in.
"Watta yah want," the man asks.
"We want to speak with Andulichia about a trip we are planning for the near future," KC replies.
The man looks past KC through the limited span of vision available and asks, "How many of you?"
"Three," KC replies.
"Okay," the man says. He looks them over for a moment and then says, "Okay," again. He closes the door and the three can hear the sound of the chain being removed. Then the door opens far enough to admit the group one at a time. KC leads the way inside, ever wary.
The man closes the door behind Tyra and replaces the chain. The group is in a cramped foyer. A passage leads deeper into the building while a cross passage leads left and right down the length of the building. The ceiling of the foyer spans both floors of the tenement and the group can see a bannister on the second floor. Two drow with crossbows stand behind the bannister and watch warily. The human who admitted them gestures to one of the doors and says, "wait in there. Andulla will be with you soon." Syl knows that Andulla is a shortened form of Andulichia.
KC opens the indicated door and steps through into a small office. He takes a seat in front of the desk while Syl and Tyra remain standing. Two minutes later, the other door to the room opens behind the desk and drow woman steps through. She closes the door behind her and takes a seat behind the desk. She looks the group over and says, "I'm Andulla, what is your business here?" She is specifically looking at Syl when she asks the question.
Syl explains that they own a spelljammer and would like to make a trip to Archeron. Andulla replies with typical questions about the purpose their visit after ascertaining that Syl is not from Archeron. No one in the group is particularly skilled at bribery so KC takes the lead in offering her 5 platinum coins as a registration fee. Andulla seems a bit shocked by the bluntness of the offer but does not refuse. She pulls out a large logbook from a drawer in the desk and begins to fill it out.
"So," she says, "you are taking a small but valuable cargo of rare kitchen spices to sell in Erehlei Cinlu, the capital city of Archeron. You had previous contacts with an agent from the House of Despana who asked you to provide the spices and, now that you have them, you wish to travel to the city and sell them to House Despana." She finishes writing her notes of pure fiction. The five platinum coins quickly disappear. She closes the logbook and returns it to the drawer. Then she takes a key from her belt pouch and opens another drawer of the desk. She removes a leather scroll tube and hands it to KC.
"Inside are two pages. The first is instructions to your astrogator on how to use the second. You will need to cast the spell on the second page into your helm in order for Archeron to be visible to the helm. Once the spell is cast, Archeron will remain visible for 20 days. If the scroll is not used within 30 days, it will erase. Any questions?"
TYRA: Tyra does not have any questions but will let Syl respond.
SYL (GM): Since she is the Astrogator do the instructions make sense to her?
SYL: Will try and judge Andulichia's character; Character Judgment: [rolled 63 (Failure)]
SYL: If she feels safe to talk with Andulichia, Syl will ask her for advice on laws/regulations of Archeron that we could read up on while travelling and (more importantly for us) for any background on Archeron itself. If asked, she will be evasive and explain only that the team has been sent there on short notice and will find out more about the assignment once they arrive (true enough....).
GM: Even though Syl was not able to read Andulla's motivations very well, the fact that she was so open to an obvious bribe makes Syl less likely to want to confide in her. The group has what they came for and now it is time to leave. The group returns to the Star Sprite without incident.
TYRA (OOC): I was going to say the same thing. We got what we wanted and we don't want to give her any reason to question our motives or renege our permission. I'd rather lean on Aurora for these questions.
MORTY (OOC to KC): I'm not certain that shrinking with the Ring of Varex will actually make you use less air, better make sure the GM agrees with you. I definitely agree it's logical, but there are enough issues with the physics of shrinking that he will have to determine how much magical hand-waving is involved ;)
MORTY: "I have had no luck thinking about creating air tanks to hold significant enough additional air supplies, but I did have one idea that might have merit. It's either insanely creative, or just plain insane, you be the judge. I could create a WATER tank that would hold enough water to submerge half a dozen or more people, and then we could use water breathing spells to breathe in THAT, which last for hours at a time, and would be cast by someone other than Shaarilla to save her energy. Personally I think that we should be fine with Shaarilla's spells and hopefully won't have to be exposed to the void for that long, but this would be a backup plan for longer term exposure. I would also be happy to expend my magical energy in powering the helm for you Shaarilla, if we can manage to do that compatibly, I think my method of feeding energy is less efficient than yours but should still work?
MORTY (GM): Questions about this plan: 1) I'm assuming that the person who fed the energy into the helm regulates the amount of power, duration, and speed she can use? I do know that you can switch pilots without having to feed a new spell point into it... I think? 2) The water tank could have a lid on it to hold the water in if necessary, but is it? The void isn't like 'space', the spelljammer still has its subjective gravity so the pilot can still sit and work on it while flying through the void, correct?
MORTY (OOC): The one good thing in this is that when slow casting into the spell wand there is no chance of failure, Shaarilla, you don't have to take your chances. You don't get a chance of a critical success either, but assuming your cast chance is under 70% you're better off with auto-success. I also thought of having KC use Flesh to Stone to petrify a few of us to extend our air supply, but that has its own risks. Too bad we don't have access to a Cocoon or suspended animation spell of some kind.
KC: I guess it could work. If the water did not freeze inside the barrels. After all we only have so much room fo fit all if us on the small craft. Than that is even a smaller area if we have to use the cube of frost resistance to help fight the cold temperatures. Then as for how much air it would save if i shrunk down to a really small size. I dont think it would be that much of an extention of time we could breath the air.
MORTY: Syl, you mentioned the spell Star Life, isn't that able to be cast on others? Or are you still perfecting your ability to cast it?
SYL: I can cast it on others and it will last for 5 hours but i only have a 45% chance to cast it. So I can slow cast it into a Wand of Spell Storing (I think I have Wall of Darkness currently) but don't want to have to be able to cast it as life or death alternative.
MORTY (OOC): You don't have a Spell Wand, only Shaarilla does, and only she can cast into it :( I think you're mixing it up with your Talisman Wand, which can't be changed easily, and only boosts cast chances with one spell right now, apparently Wall of Darkness. We don't have any universal way to store spells except my expensive 'magical trap mechanism' way.
SHAARILLA (OOC): The Spell Wand does not require attunement. Any mage can story spell into it. And from the description, you don’t even need to be a mage to cast a spell from it. Currently Shaarilla has her Spell Wand loaded with 7 max level Sphere of Air spells, but some of these could be replaced with other emergency spells. In any case, Shaarilla’s Spell Want will work as an emergency source of air.
GM: I just looked up the Spell Wand on the website and it actually does require attunement. Attunement is 5 days.
GM: And Keith is correct about Syl's Talisman Wand. A Talisman Wand does not store spells. It helps in the casting of spell. When Syl uses her Talisman Wand, she gains a +10 to her cast chance. This is already included in the cast chance on the website because it is assumed that she uses her wand whenever she casts a Wall of Darkness. Mages can add spells to their Talisman Wand but must find a Shaper mage to perform the ritual.
MORTY (GM): I completely forgot about asking about the Ritual of Investment when we were spell shopping, though I think I heard someone else mention it, did you ever make a ruling on its availability? It would be more costly for the investable object at our levels, but eventually would be much more cost effective since it doesn't scale with the rank of the spell invested, especially if the mage can re-use it. I assume we can no longer acquire materials from rare creatures or monsters and make them into investable items? What about acquiring stuff like that (alchemical components) that a shaper or other enchanter mage can then make into investable items, reducing our cost, or giving us another small income stream?
GM: The group did not find anyone who was willing to teach them the Investment Ritual. You might be able to reduce the of the item by providing unique items to enchant.
MORTY: "Keep in mind that for a complete emergency we could rely on one of my mechanical "Sphere of Air" triggers, if we prepare one it will cost several ritual components but it would be a good 'oh crap!' backup option allowing me to limp the Star Sprite out of the void if Shaarilla gets incapacitated for some reason. Unfortunately the cost is pretty much the same for a Star Life panic button, which only affects one person, so seems much less cost effective. I'd suggest we make one cheaper Sphere of Air trigger and one more expensive one. (The cost is based on the rank of the spell cast into it, which Shaarilla can choose to make it a rank 1 for cheap or a max rank for the expensive one. Of course the duration would be relative to the rank she used).
MORTY (GM): We actually talked about this some time ago, was I able to create a mechanism or two for this purpose (without the hours spent investing the spell) during what little downtime we had before the Tobacco Shoppe stuff, or during the Citadel of Fire? Or does it require a 'shop' to make, not just a 'kit'? There is no cost mentioned for me for the basic parts, or any costs associated with trap building that I can find, but I could pay 50-100 for basic pieces and parts if necessary? Or 10sp per rank of the mechanism's "capacity"?
GM: Can you explain what the Sphere of Air trigger is again. I do not recall. Once I know more about it, then I will rule on whether you had the time and resources to have already worked on it.
MORTY (GM): In the Mechanician profession there is the capability to create a Magical Trap with the assistance of a mage. I have to create the basic trap, then silver it and enchant it with the help of the mage, costing 100sp of ritual components per rank of the spell being imbued into it. My thought was to create a very basic manual trap that I could keep in a case and then intentionally trigger doing little (or no?) damage, but setting off the spell. There is no prohibition against imbuing non-damaging spells this way, so shouldn't it work? The plan would be to create one with a rank 1 spell for the cheaper version, and another with a spell of her maximum rank. So my question is whether I was able to design this trap and create a couple of them for later use in this way, once we decide to do it.
GM: Okay, I got it now. You are basically using the Construct Magical Trap ability of Mechanicians to create an invested item. I have no problem with that though, as I'm sure you can see, it can be costly. At this point I will say that you have had enough time to build one such object. The object needs to be "trap-like" in that it has to have moving parts that open and close in some way but does not have to be an actual trap. It could be a miniature, hinged box that is activated by opening the box. You would want to construct it such that it won't open easily so maybe some sort of latching mechanism.
KC, Syl and Tyra return to the Star Sprite with the scroll and tell the others what they learned and of their success at the Archeron embassy.
KC: One other thought is that we should probably pick up some exotic spices to help out with our cover if it is needed on Archeron customs. If it is this hard just to get passage there it is probably pretty strict on the other side also.
LANI: "You are thinking as an excuse once we get there, right? What kind of exotic spices are needed on Archeron, we we know?"
A short time later, Aurora arrives with a carpet bag and dressed for travel. "I'm ready to go whenever you are," she announces.
The group is already there and the ship is as provisioned as it is going to be. Aurora shows the group a crude map of the phlogiston in this corner of the universe, which shows Fangora and the void north and easwt of Fangora mostly blocked by void. However, her map shows a couple of passes through the void both to the east and the north. The north one heads north and then eventually curves west and narrows. A large rock is shown in the opening. Beyond the rock, a very narrow pass runs north while the main pass continues west but narrows quickly.
AURORA: "The distance from here to that rock, called Alley Rock, is about 1000 miles. The void starts about 200 to 250 miles north of here so if you can make a jump of about 800 miles, then we can go that route. If you can't, then we head northeast and fly through this pass, following it all the way to Alley Rock. Total distance is about 1500 to 1800 miles or so."
AURORA: "Now if your ship is so capable, and your astrogation skills are up to it, we could jump straight to Archeron, which is about 2,000 miles away."
GM: As a reminder, Syl's maximum safe jump distance is 800 miles.
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