A Bias for Action

This post and all responses to it will be out of character, so you don’t have to italicize everything.

Hello Kilink. It seems that more and more often, lately, there are days where nobody posts or only one person posts. I feel like either schedules have gotten worse to the point where many people are unable to post on a regular basis or else interest is waning. Is this an accurate assessment? Do you want to continue playing? If so, why have you been so poor at posting lately? If we decide not to continue playing, do you want to try to quickly out of game wrap up the storyline, as Beranhond and I did for the stuff that happened while you were all in the dream realm? Please let me know what you’d like to do, so we can all go forward with this.

Just some filler

Beranhond didn't feel comfortable down in Shaar, nor was he completely comfortable wandering around the grasslands. Fortunately Thjodolf seemed fairly content and comfortable with the situation.
One evening, while resting after a long day of travel, Beranhond saw that Darvin was sitting on a mound of dirt overlooking the fields. Wandering on over Beranhond grabbed a seat. They didn't say anything, but looked at the stars for a while.
"Majestic things aren't they?" Beranhond asked. Darvin simply nodded. "I wonder what is out there - I know a lot about the different planes, about the realms of the Gods, but I never really thought much about what is out there in the stars."
After a little while longer Beranhond made his way back into camp and took a seat near the fire.
I wonder where Narath is tonight. He thought as he gazed into the flames. Before he could think any more on the subject Aelysin came on over and sat down next to him.
"Well, my life has certainly gotten more interesting as of late."
"That happens around us - I hope you aren't regretting staying on the ship after Baldur's Gate."
"Not at all... I enjoy the company." She said, her eyes boring at him.
"It is a good set of people here."
They continued to chat into the evening before he excused himself and made his way toward his bedroll.

The Path Suggested by Thjodolf

Thjodolf knows the orcs he is familiar with will be somewhere in the northeast Shaar, but he is not sure exactly where, so he proposes searching in a circular pattern and looking for signs of them. They have somewhat permanent settlements, but they are constructed to be movable, enabling them to quickly move and set up their dwellings elsewhere should the grasslands choose not to provide for them any more in their current location.

The Elephants Go Marching

Umm, so I was going to make you a map today, but the program I wanted to make it with (Visio) isn't working right now... I will have the map for you tomorrow. In the meantime, let's work on those horses.

The rest of the day after the Lady Narath lands at the Shaar is spent repairing the hull. The next morning, after giving instructions to the crew remaining behind to sail back to and support themselves by doing work on the dock and making due, the small band of Darvin, Nym, Beranhond, Talathel, Aelysin, Scriptus, Codex, Greg, and Lailsan leaves and heads out onto the plains. They make sure to leave a hearing stone with Kailina (who is captain in Darvin's stead) to safeguard, leaving them a way to call the Lady Narath back when they needed to return.

As Kilink sets out in search of mounts, Thjodolf tells them about the many nomadic groups on the grasslands that will most likely be willing to trade you for the horses, with either gold or some slightly exotic trade good. On Nym's assertion that nothing in the hold was that worthwhile or exotic except for a few random magical items that are not too interesting, you bring a bit of the gold from the hold, and travel east and slightly north in search of someone to trade with.

About 3 in the afternoon, you see a dust cloud in the distance, moving slowly northwest, across your path. The dust could be a caravan, Thjodolf tells you, and as they come within sight, you see what can only be a Loxo band. The group appears to number about 20 Loxo, with ages ranging from young to very old, and most of the members of the group that is not obviously an infant carries some sort of bundle or pack on their back. The several who are not carrying bundles carry weapons. Three are armed with morningstars, one has a club, and another has a large hammer. All three have javelins strapped to their backs as well. They stand about 8-10 feet tall and look like elephants walking on their hind legs with handlike appendages at the end of their trunks and wearing loose clothing made of orange and yellow patterned fabric, with beads of different metals as decoration. The pattern appears to be a herringbone-type pattern with good attention to detail.

They are still far enough away that you can leave without them seeing if you would like. Would you like to try to engage them and trade?

Arrival at the Shaar

How do you want to go about exploring this new place? How many of the crew do you plan to bring along, how do you plan on traveling, finding out information about this new area, etc?

Thjodolf tells you the orcs will most likely be in the northeastern part of the Shaar, but he is unsure how easy it will be to find them and warns that there will likely be many difficulties along the way.

Please begin your journey in the comments of this post.

The Shaar

Here are two maps of the Shaar. People commonly refer to the area east of the Landrise as the Eastern Shaar. The Lady Narath landed on the far western edge of the Shaar, based on the advice of Thjodolf, who warned against landing at Ormpur. 

The Shaar

The Eastern Shaar

Days 16-18 of the Trip South

On day 16 of the trip, the lookout spots an odd object floating in the water, and gives it to Nym to evaluate. Perception check, please.


Day 17 is uneventful.

On day 18, the ship arrives at the Shaar. Talathel is at the lookout, Darvin takes the helm, and Beranhond uses his knowledge of the religions of the region and a chat with Talathel to prep the crew for what they should expect. Talathel, please give me a perception check to look for a place to land. Darvin, please give me a Profession: Sailor check. Beranhond, please give me a Knowledge: Religion check and a Diplomacy check. 

Days 13-15 of the Trip South

On day 13, the crew is beginning to enter waters that are unfamiliar to anyone on board, including Thjodolf, and he recommends stopping at Calimport for maps and charts. Darvin and Nym go along to attempt to get what they'll need. Nym and Darvin, please give me an Appraise check.


On day 14, as they travel on the Shining Sea, Wildaron becomes very ill, and Beranhond attempts to heal him.  He feels nauseated, and complains of pain in his chest and belly. Beranhond, please give me a perception check, and a heal check.


On day 15, they land on the beach on Tharsault to give everyone a short bit of shore leave, and as Talathel and Lailsan are walking together, a man walks up to them and asks them a question. "I am going to give you a sentence that is missing three words. Use 3 homonyms that sound alike, such as too and two to complete this sentence, and you will have solved my riddle: 
A bloodthirsty pirate will wander the ____ and essentially _____ everything he ____."
Talathel, either come up with the answer or give me a wisdom check to work it out with Lailsan's help.

Nym's Hat

Nym requested to see what her hat looked like, so here is a picture. Enjoy!

Days 7-12 of the Trip South

Sorry I forgot to post on Friday. :( I'll post double the days at once to make up for it. Also, I was still waiting on Darvin to post. Come on, Nick. Get it together, man!

As you continue the journey south, the days begin to blur together a bit. Days 7 and 8 pass uneventfully, but on day 9, you come across a man clinging to a small raft, who tells you of a pirate treasure buried on an island nearby. The man insists that he just helped bury it, and only just escaped with his life. If you help him get it, he will share the treasure with you, and it should only take an extra day or two on your journey. Darvin and Nym, how do you want to handle this one? You may open it up for the group to discuss, but either the ship's captain or owner should decide how to proceed. You have foodstores for another 5 days at the moment.

On day 10, the wind dies down a bit, and the crew try foraging on the shore for food and water. Everyone, please give me a Survival check.

On day 11, Beranhond discovers that his shield, the holy icon he uses for calling upon Narath's help,  is missing from his room. Distressed, he asks the other members of Kilink, but they have not seen it either. How would you like to begin your search beyond that, Beranhond?

On day 12, Just before sunrise, Helga rushes above deck to report a leak has sprung. Talathel, being the only member of Kilink on deck, is the only one there to receive the report. Most of the crew is still asleep, though there is a bell on board to wake them. Helga tells you the leak is not too serious yet, but she worries that the leak sprung from a warped board in the hull and is concerned that if it warped enough to spring a leak, it could mean more problems down the road if not fixed properly. How do you want to handle the situation, Talathel?

Above the fray

Sorry if I'm stepping on some toes, but I felt like writing something. This takes place on night six during the party.

Talathel was unsure as to why the drink at the party was so weak, but it wasn't doing much for him. He had found himself slightly bored with the party. Lailsan had taken to the task of preparing food for the event, and was busy in the galley. Talathel, not known for his skills in the kitchen, found himself more a hinderance with his assistance, so he went to join the crew.

He enjoyed some small talk but found himself staring out at the open ocean more than he did conversing as the night drug on. Finally with the moon high above the waters, he climbed up to the crow's nest and settled in.

He listened to the din of the party below. Talathel was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the music. He enjoyed the atmosphere of the festivities without being a part of them.

He looked up at the moon, which shone bright on the cloudless night. He studied its features, fixated on the distant body. He was not sure what drew him to the moon this evening, but he found himself enamored by it.

"Got room for one more?" A voice said, breaking the silence. Talathel looked up to see Lailsan peering over the crow's nest.

"Uh...yea...yes!" Talathel said, surprised. "You came up here?"

"Its the only way I'd get to see you," she said. Talathel nodded. "How is it up here?"

"Its nice. I...I have been looking at the moon." Talathel realized that it was awkward as soon as he said it. Lailsan gave a slight laugh.

"The moon, eh? What about it?"

"I don't know. Its just bright and beautiful this evening." Talathel looked over at Lailsan. The moon gave just enough light that he could see her. In the plae moonlight, she was more beautiful than we he first saw her.

"I suppose that's a good reason." Lailsan slid underneath Talathel's arm. The two elves looked skyward together letting the laughter and music from below serenade their evening.

Days 4-6 of the Trip South

On the fourth day of the journey, you see another ship, and Beranhond advises, since Darvin seems to want to head south with all haste, that you attempt to trade for supplies rather than stopping in a port. Darvin and Beranhond, please roll Diplomacy and Appraise for me. 


The fifth day is uneventful.


On the sixth day, in order to keep cheerier thoughts in the minds of the crew, Nym decides a dance is in order. Several sailors bring out instruments and the crew dances the night away. Nym, please give me a Perform (Instrument) check. Talathel, you are, as usual, drinking heavily. Please give me both a Fortitude check and a Dexterity Check. Darvin and Beranhond, how would you behave at the dance?

Days 1-3 of the Trip South

Please feel free to discuss whatever you want about the evil presence or whatever. Every day I will post another 3 days of the journey southward, until you reach the Shaar (It's an 18 day trip, so this will take 6 days in the real world. Read below if you want to know how I came up with that number). Please continue to post once a day. I would recommend using these daily posts as a way to refresh your weapons and armor, which are now very far behind your class levels. One of your new passengers is able to upgrade your items or transform existing items into new items, if you wish. 

On the first day of the journey, you are able to find a good sized school of tuna and attempt to catch some to replenish food stores. Darvin, please give me a Profession: Fisherman check to see how much you can catch. Other than the tuna, the day is relatively uneventful, and you see only 1 wreck of a ship on the shore, but no ships still sailing. Nym used the relaxing day to take stock of what the crew had done with the time they were absent and appraised the ship's condition and the contents of the holds. Nym, please give me an Appraise and a Spellcraft check to tell find out how you're all doing.


On the second day, you see a school of porpoises in the morning and a few dolphins in the afternoon. Several of the sailors take this as a good omen, and ask Beranhond to perform a service for them to bless the voyage. Beranhond, please give me a Religion check to see how the ceremony goes. Also, Talathel is asked to taste the brew being made in the still onboard. Talathel, please give me a Fortitude check followed by an Appraise check to see whether you like it and if you have any suggestions for taste or whether it's any good.

On the third day, a storm moved in, and caused a bit of disruption, rocking the ship, and pushing them toward the shore. Everyone, please roll Profession (Sailor) to see how you handle the storm.

Also, if you want to know how I calculated 18 days, it is 2500 miles to the Shaar, or 2172 nautical miles, and I am estimating a speed of 5 knots (The caravel can travel at 7 knots, but I am assuming you won't always find prevailing winds to be favorable), so you can travel 120 nautical miles per day. If you are traveling nonstop for 18 days, that will get you there in just over 18 days.

The Idle Hours

Satisfied with Nym's health Beranhond excised himself and made his way to his cabin expecting to have more time to devote to examining the aura of evil. However, as soon as he came in the inventory requests fell off his desk and before too long Beranhond was drawing up items they needed to procure at their next port of call. They had enough food to make it as far south as Baldur's Gate, but no farther than that without a negative impact to their health.
"That looks like exciting work." A familiar voice sad from behind him.
"Beyond thrilling." Beranhond said to the voice. "Sadly, it must get done if we are to survive." He turned and smiled broadly at Narath. She was in a tunic and pants and had made herself comfortable in his hammock. "I was wondering when you would reappear."
"I have been busy - the corruption in Lathander confirmed many of my fears and has set a number of the Gods on edge. It seems that this dark element is not confined to just this part of Faerun or even to this world. A greater darkness is manifesting itself here in the heart of this world, and I suspect in the heart of the world your companions traveled to as well."
Beranhond sat back in his chair. "That would make sense - whoever this Ishamel person is seemed far too powerful and well connected to simply be an isolated agent." Beranhond stood and walked over to Narath. He smiled again and took her hand.
"Yes. Also, I would keep an eye out on your ship as well." Beranhond smiled as Narath had always preferred to avoid the name of this ship. "It was attacked once before, and it would be foolish to think that it won't be attacked again. I certainly don't want any harm coming to them, and certainly not to you."
"Well, you wouldn't want to lose your prophet." He said leaning in towards her face.
"Beranhond, don't tease me like that..." she said before trailing off.