NW:4 Exploring the Coast

Starring: Sedeq, Pitor, Falcon, and Brenton
Guest Starring: Crayborn Frey, Arry Frey, Edwin Bainbridge, Dario Nardozzi, Eleanor Oaksey, Amabel, Stag, Cedric Greenaway, Duk Min
Challenge: Negotiations with Greenaway and Duk, who represented Kean & Vogel.
Location: Aboard the The Stranger's Bride while riding up and down the coast
Date Played: 15 Mar 2011

Elphintown Gets Underway

Brenton: Well, I know next time not to combine those rare Turinese fungi with soarwood bark. The light-headedness was quite nice in its own way, though the stomach cramping brought down my euphoric state. Perhaps I'll try it with some of the local bark as opposed to soarwood when I get a chance.

I am sadly put into the pressgang the moment I recover. I have hoped to get out of the scouting party, though it appears I have little choice in the matter. I will have to use it to my advantage and collect samples. I will also have to use the fact that my staggering intellect makes most of the others shy away from me to be able to utilize my time doing "crazy things that are best left unattended to." How I got the reputation as the nutty professor I will never tell.

I do have a wonderful idea for the tree clearing, though. Most people with muscle are put into scouting or defensive jobs of the camp, making the felling of trees quite ponderous. I am currently working on two machines. One that can also work as a defensive device; a modification of a ballista and a trebuchie that will swing sizable blades with great power and speed. My other is a bit mundane. I plan on spanning rough cable between a self locking winch that when pulled back and forth not only grinds down the tree but also tightens the cable, keeping a great amount of friction and force with minimal strength needed by those doing the work. Needless to say, I'll start with the more dangerous one as I find it more exciting.

Falcon: The work on the homestead gets on way. The wild energy of the party we had upon land fall have given away to the hard work. But a sense a misgiven about this whole thing nag at me.-

Pitor: "Elphintown" is… not the greatest of names. The melding of private corporations and government leaves no room for artistry or the gentle government of filial ties. I care about such things, but not enough to take any real action. My energies are better expended on my art.

Speaking of making time for art- I've crafted an incredible skull and need a place to display it. Which in turn requires a home. I discovered that the expectation was that each of us would build our own home! Lunacy. Societies exist so that we may specialize in our tasks. I am an artist, and shouldn't be given into such manual labors. Scouting provides some home of inspiration, but building a house? Tedious. I found a few strapping laborers willing to build the house for me- for a price. My wine! I have no more wine. But I get ahead of myself.

Shipwrecked

Brenton: I have been called to my first scouting mission. Hopefully there is little combat. Dario came back in poor shape and his experiences outweigh mine in the field of battle. Actually, not that I think about it, Pitor probably has more experience than I do. I suppose he has had some training in whipping and felling his slaves that make him cross, so I guess it is to be expected.

We traveled south at first. There was a large island that had a bit of a squat, monolithic coastline. Interestingly enough, there was smoke visible from the horizon. I quietly hoped to myself that we found some natives as opposed to a stray elemental. As opposed to rushing in, we circled the island and waited until nightfall before approaching in a landing ship.

We found what appeared to be a very makeshift dock and signs of human inhabitation. Falcon decided to scout ahead while we looked around the site with the burn piles. There were some ancient, non-descript totem poles that I found interesting in the odd simplicity.

Falcon eventually came back with another survivor of Miki's Majesty.

Falcon: Our scouting mission of coast line. The land keeps giving more hints of origin. These time found myself more learned person like brenton and other they see things and understhing I never will. We came across a pillar and what look like calling a fire. After some arm twisting the other agree to put to land. I read the tracks find large and fearsome barbarian from Miki Majesty. Lucky for me he speak nature whisper..

Pitor: Long days on the ship return me to a rhythm. And it certainly makes scouting easier. Tantalizingly, we keep finding hints of civilization; ancient columns dot islands around this new continent. And the creatures! We saw living monsters, on the scale of dragons, but docile, plant-eaters. I am thinking of naming them, and for some reason, the word "Sleestak" keeps coming to mind, but I think that would be better for some smaller creature- it doesn't ring of "giant beast". Perhaps something with a more Villium feel, like "Carnagus". No, that implies meat eating.

Our Paths Finally Cross

Falcon: During ths scouting mission. We stumble upon the ship from the other fleet. Cooler heads came to fore front. Pitor and myself row to meet with speaker. First friendly tones of setting up marking the land for the two compaines my gut grown tight and feeling of uneasy I have been carrying grows stronger now. But with any luck this new world wont know the bloodshed of the old....

Pitor: To the north, we find the Keene and Vogel mission, or at least their own caravel, set for scouting. I take the longboat out to negotiate, and the entire affair is tense. I take some precautions to ensure my colony isn't screwed by the negotiations, and I'm most careful to promise that nothing I agree to is necessarily binding. I wasn't empowered to negotiate, and don't particularly want the responsibility- or blame- for bad results. Credit for shrewd negotiations, on the other hand, are MOST welcome.

We tentatively set the borders of our respective spheres of influence at a convenient river.

Formally starting the Colony

Decision-makers and order of succession: Edwin Bainbridge (Governor), Pawel Laski (Lt Governor), Major Halden, Albrecht of Clan Builder, and Pitor. Also at the meeting was Captain Montano and Ester Frey.

List of trinkets silently representing the Septinity:

• A vial of sweat from a hard day's work for The Father
• A baby blanket for The Mother
• A wooden nutcraker soldier for The Warrior
• A piece of ore for The Smith
• A vial of blood for The Maiden
• A locket that contains a secret for The Stranger
• "And since I am feeble, crass, and old, I (Ester) will represent The Crone"

🎲 DM: The name of the colony is thus far Elphintown, though this name may be changed by the Governor to better reflect the desires and actions of the colonists. Suggestions for names of the colony are welcome.

Pitor's Session Poem

TBD.

Raw Notes

• Bainbridge calls together a meeting of "deciderators", including Piotr
  • See above list.
  • See above Septinity
• Priorities set:
  • Establish colony location
  • Quell the hippogriffs
  • Aquaduct
  • Explore up the river
  • Bainbridge is governor
  • Line of succession is set 🎲 DM fill in please?
    • Already listed above, see "Decision-makers and order of succession" --🎲 DM
• Arry seems to be formally trained
• Talks (threats) his way into being a ward of Falcon (noble)
• Exploring coast by ship
• We make sure Amabel gets introduced all around; can't engineer her meeting Younghusband
• Sail South (right on map)
• Herd of diplodoci
• turns jungle
• 5-miles, see a fallen column; investigate on land
• Columns, a path; we flag for later dep exploration
• black smoke from same island
• investigate in the morning
• 8' pyre ashore, tracks to and from jungle; tick marks on a log
  • Septinity-style
• it's a signal fire, we determine
• falcon and arry scout into the woods, see a survivalist stalking prey [with an axe]
• guy has new languages and beasttongue (barbarian language, high cyril)
• he'd been washed ashore here, for days.
• has symbol of heca -- god of magic; has a coin purse
• "found a great... hive inland. it was distressing"
• dario speaks high cyril with him, who is named "stag"
• he studied at Heca U, is a bbn from the mountain tribes
• from Micky's Majesty; his shipwreck story matches; he swam to shore
• we're suspicious!
• mayan-style pyramid with giant ants
• crayborn talks to albrecht: they discarded a corpse into the river
  • the corpse was of a 'devilbeast' that they'd dug up around settlement
• Amabel vets stag with her sight
• Stag was a Mercenary
• Stag allowed to join colony
• Sail north (left on map)
• Cliffs all around for quite some time; swampy
• Encounter with another vessel, Pretender's Leaf; parlay
  • Cedrick Greenaway, a Silasian man, an UI-Kama[wealthy] named Dukmin
• Border set and negotiated with some fallen trees after exploring a full day N/S in each
• we will meet at the border in 2 new moons to verify treat accepted; talk about issues and trading
• we're having land set aside; small shack to live in until we can get around to our own
• Piotr buys a house with wine
• Eleanor screams

Rewards

Falcon — Not the only fighter: Irritated that your scouting party isn't as battle hardened as you would like them to be, you teach them ways to keep out of harm. When used, this ability grants a +2 dodge bonus to your allies who fight the same foe as you for the duration of the combat. Useable twice.

Brenton — Go Away: As you gather items to work on your tree-cutting device, you find that the folks are overly generous in handing you stuff (in an effort to make you go away). Gain +1 Wealth.

Pitor — Muse: The rescue of Stag inspired you for the finishing touches on the skull-pture you have been working on. If you work in the presence of the dinosaur skull for at least an hour, you gain a +2 circumstance bonus to art-related skill checks.

Sedeq — Animal Testing: Your research with the rats has yielded important information about edible plants that surround the colony, creating a small boon of food. Gain +1 Wealth.