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Into The Open Sky IC

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Felix

Behind that Crazy Premise
1000


It has been 3 years since the Mother Storm swept over the edge to revitalize the spring of Riverrise, a mythical garden deep in the Deepwoods, whose location had been lost for centuries. From there the water flows through the dark and misty Deepwoods, where tribes of many species gather the valuable resources that the forest provides. Slave traders capture many of them though, so it becomes a tough decision to stay and risk your freedom or leave for Undercity to make a new life. The journey is long and hard with many predators and a dangerous walk through the Mire. People who are rich enough may choose to board a flying ship from a merchant or pirate bringing goods towards the cities, but there is still a chance that they turn out evil and capture you. Recently a lot of sky ships have been acting up and fallen down unexpectedly. Nobody knows what is wrong, but some say the end of sky piracy and travel is nigh. The reality in Undertown is not as rosy. It is hard to make a living, with League men controlling most of the guilds and trade and other criminals trying to profit from the unfortunate souls who had to leave everything behind in the Deepwoods. Hygiene used to be squalid, but at least the Mother Storm brought fresh and clean water. Drifting above the city is New Sanctaphrax, the city of scholars, which is still in the process of being rebuild after the old one was lost to the Mother Storm. The new scholars are hopeful though and working on rebuilding their normal life. Continuing the stream there is only one last stop in the Stone Gardens, where all flying rocks are born, before the Edgewater river drops over said edge. Where it falls to? No one knows? If there is anything in the great Open Sky? No one knows. And no one even dares to think of going there. At least until recently ...

Your character is in the docks in Undertown. Maybe you were delivering goods? Or maybe you were looking for a job? Or maybe you were so desperately looking for a way out of town, that any sky ship would do? Anyhow, you were looking at the different offers of outgoing ships when your eye fell on the following message.

Looking for fearless adventurers who can leave everything at a moments notice.

Do you want fame and riches beyond belief? Are you hungry to expand your knowledge into the unknown? And are you okay with never returning?

Join the Harbinger on a mission to discover the unexplored. More information about this mission will be given at 8 pm in The Bloodoak Tavern. Ask Mother Horsefeather about The Point of no Return.

I hope to welcome you aboard!
Captain Tempest

340
This sounds exactly like you, so you make your way to the Bloodoak Tavern. An old rusty sign depicting a bloodoak welcomes you. In fact, it's the only thing welcoming you in this dreary place. The cloddertrog guarding the door gives you a wary look, but let's you pass anyway. As you enter, the room falls silent for a few seconds, you get angry and empty looks of the patrons sizing you up. Fluxbauble Fluxbauble As Pyke enters, everyone collectively shivers, no one knows why or pays much attention to it, but they do it anyhow. The walls are lined with woodsap barrels with taps opening up to communal troughs. A diverse collection of creatures was drinking from it: hammerhead goblins, gahtrogs, slaughterers, oak elves and more. The sky pirates and leaguesmen who could afford it were sitting at their own tables and were drinking from goblets. A fat bird lady you recognize as Mother Horsefeather waggles over: "Stop standing around, you are making the customers nervous. What can I get you?"

You can either get a drink and linger a bit in the bar or you can immediately tell Mother Horsefeather the secret phrase. If you do the latter, the following happens.

"Ssst, not that loud." Mother Horsefeather leads you to the back and holds open a door to a backroom. The room is small and dimly lit. A fireplace shows glimpses of other interested people huddled together. "She is late, as always. Please wait here until she gets back with our esteemed guest. Can I get you a drink in the mean time?"

Steamdrunk Steamdrunk Sherwood Sherwood dae mec dae mec Psychie Psychie ValkyrieRose ValkyrieRose Fluxbauble Fluxbauble
 
Savanah heads to the tavern in question, hoping that she will be able to get a job; things have not been going well for her financially. Much of her money is now gone, and if she cannot find good employment soon, she'll have to really lower her standards to get something - anything - to bring in some funds.

Hefting her maul over her shoulder, she looks around the tavern until she's told to quit standing around and to find a seat. Savanah gives the super secret code phrase, and is then shuffled into the back room. When asked about a drink, she nods. "Aye. A good beer would be just the thing. Something nice and dark, if ye got it."

She sets her heavy maul down on the floor next to one of the seats and hops up into it, once more cursing in her head the fact that everyone seems to want to build furniture for people taller than her.
 
Pyke makes their way to the Bloodoak Tavern. It was a dingy establishment, but as good a watering hole as any. With a simple nod to the guard at the door they were let in. The silence of the room as they entered was absolutely deafening. Pyke pulls their cloak tighter and shifts their face mask up their face. They walk up to Mother Horsefeather and quickly utters the secret phrase.

Quickly being led into another room was a relief to say the least. The scanning eyes of others was something that Pyke was used to, but it never got any easier. The warm fire was the only source of light as they took a seat where the fire wouldn't illuminate too much of their face. When asked about a drink they nodded and asked for something light or watered down.

A few others were already here. Pyke simply nodded as a means of acknowledgement of them being there while they waited for their employer.
 
Sasha looks at the advertisement for crew on an airship with interest. If she were out of the city on a long-term flight exploring the unknown, that would certainly get her some distance from her family and that fat old pig bastard that they want to marry her off to. She takes note of the place and time of the meeting, and heads for the tavern. She hopes that things will work out for her.

Once there, Sasha quietly gives the recognition phrase to the bird-woman, and readily agrees to a drink. It would be the first alcohol she's had in years, and she's quite looking forward to it.
 
"Hrmph." Lugg-Mag scratched his chin as he squinted at the Inn Sign. As he entered,he ignored the silence and stares. He gorked at the other Hammer Heads before he was addressed, attempting to read their tattoos and size them up.
His temptation to go sit with them was undeniable, his years in the mercenary core had kept him away from his kin. He fought better of it as Mother Horse feathers approached him. He mumbled the Phrase and asked for a bottle of Oakmead and some cups.
As he walked in, stooping below the doorframe and addressed the room in his thick accent.
"Is this where I find the Money and Fame?"
 
The point of no return, mused Jidath. A phrase that was both ominous and promising. Which was exactly what she needed, so Jidath made her way to the tavern. She paused for a moment, enjoying the sights and sounds of company. A part of her wanted to jump right into a conversation, to soak up the stories of the sky pirates and mercenaries and regular folk who'd come to enjoy a drink. But that wasn't what she was here for. Jidath was here for redemption. Even if it wasn't particularly her fault.

Jidath orders a drink first before speaking the code phrase to Mother Horsefeathers, so she joins the others with a mug of ale already in hand. Oh dear, she wasn't the last one, was she? Jidath didn't know how large the crew was supposed to be.

She comes just in time to hear a goblin ask about fame and money. "I certainly hope so!" she says cheerfully, taking a sip. "I guess you all are fellow soon-to-be explorers." Though by the look of the very interesting group, some of them already have experience. "I'm Jidath Bede. A pleasure to meet you all!"
 
"Lugg-Mag, Good to see you!" he turned, dropping the Oakmead on the table, to free a hand he could offer to Jidath.
"I'd offer you a drink but you seem to already have one."
( dae mec dae mec )
 
The mountain troll woman (dwarf) looks over with a grin. "Aye! I'm hoping for clear skies and a fat wallet at the end of this. I'm Savanah, by the way." She offers up a salute with her beer stein and takes a hearty drink of the beverage inside it. "It would seem that we have an unusual bunch of candidates for the job. I do wonder what we'll be running into out there, and if we'll all get hired on."
 
Lugg-Mag seats himself opposite Savanah, pouring himself a cup of Oakmead. "Speak for yourself, frontier work is what I do best. Deep woods is my specialty."
Offers cup for cheers to Savanah and gestures to Jidath to sit with them. "What are your professions?"
 
Savanah pops up with, "Well, I am a bit of a warrior, as you can probably tell, and I'm a fairly decent cook, having spent many a year in the field taking care of the food needs of my own band of misfits. What of you, sir?"
 
"Same, warrior. Been a Scout in the Red Band Mercianry Company for a the last few years, scouting and navigating. I'm aiming for a Gunner position."
 
"Thank you anyway," Jidath says to Lugg-Mugg with a smile. She takes a seat. "The Oakmead looks delicious. Maybe I should've gone with that."

She greets Savanah with an answering grin and listens their back-and-forth for a little bit. "I think I'm the odd one out," Jidath admits. "I'm a scholar from Sanctaphrax."
 
With almost impressive speed, Jidath downs her mug of ale and starts on the cup that Lugg-Mag handed her. She takes a sip and sighs with pleasure. It reminds her of her apprentice days, when she and a batch of friends would get piss-drunk and argue about some minor minutiae.

"I guess you could say that," she says wryly. "But it doesn't come easy for me. I have to beat my head against the books until it finally makes sense." Jidath snorts into her cup. "I promise I'll be useful. If there's one thing that Sanctaphrax teaches, it's how to read the sky. My specialty's culture and music, though." She brightens. "I play a mean lute and a better lyre. I'm passable with the hand drums, too. Do you like music?"
 
The conversation was picking up as the drink flowed. That made sense. Good drinks loosen lips. Pyke continued to listen in on the conversation. All the while they stared into the fireplace. The heat of the fire warmed them. It provided comfort. Flicking their ivory orbs over to the group they thought it would be appropriate to shift into a more... Desirable form.

Pyke shifts their body in their seat to better mask the process. Underneath the cloak a steady process of metamorphosis began to occur. Their once long silvery hair shortened and turned an oaken brunette. Their nose became plump and rounded. Their featureless eyes soon turned into pools of hazel. Their once ghostly skin now tawny. Their chest becomes slightly pronounced. Shoulders slightly broader, but not enough to be obvious. The transformation was complete.

For all intents and purposes, Pyke was a young adult male fourthling. He breathed a heavy sigh before removing his face mask. It made him let out a small chuckle. Putting on one mask just remove another. The irony he lived. One couldn't help but laugh a little. The drink Mother Horsefeather left for him was calling his name. He took a quick swig before turning to face the rest of the would-be crew.

"Do you have a lyre on you? I've never heard one played before. I would love to hear it."
 
Lugg-Mag took note of the speed of the downing and, not to be outdone, proceeded to down his own drink in a similar fashion, slightly spilling his mead down his front.
"Nah,but you'd understand if you heard how Hammerheads Sing." he wiped his mouth and slammed his cup on the table.
Hearing the voice he looked over at Pyke figure inquisitively.
 
Jidath chuckles at Lugg-Mag's comment. "I'll take you up on that if you ever want to sing," she says. "I'm always ready to learn a new song, no matter how interesting it is."

She turns to the formerly masked individual in the corner. He looks completely ordinary, and Jidath wonders why he's been masked at all. She's curious, but not enough to pry.

"I do have a lyre," Jidath answers with a smile.

She reaches into her large pack and pulls a slender wooden case. Jidath opens it, taking out a simple but elegant instrument. She plucks a string, and the note rings out, pure and clear.

"I'm Jidath," she says to the man before adressing everyone. "Any requests? I think we have time for a short song."
 
As usual, Luna was slightly on the late side. Not that she was particularly lazy, far from it. Instead, she had taken her time in delivering her shipment of goods to the docks. Everything had to be in order, or she would come to regret it later. It was on her stroll back that she happened to notice the....er...notice

Well, maybe she was rushing, but she had decided to leave her home for the sake of adventure anyway. She was an odd one among her peers, but the inquisitive Elf had done so much for the sake of travel, and here was the chance to get on the ground floor of something completely new.

She decided to meet about this job, and decided to go to the tavern at the intended time. Seeing all the interesting people, she hummed and sat down. "Point of No Return please!" She said. That was a drink right? She didn't misread the flyer right? Oh well, too late now
 
"Oh I dont know any songs. Can hardly carry a note myself. But please, I insist musician's choice. I have every confidence in your selection."

That was a lie. Pyke knew a few songs. Common ones he would hear while he moved from place to place. He was prone to lying to others. Even mundane things like this were something he'd often lie about. It became a part of who he was. He could not help it. Lying has become yet another tool in his repertoire for survival.

"Oh I forget myself. Pyke Lanwind. I hope to be the crew's eyes and ears while we're about."
 
"And my name is Sasha. I claim no family name anymore." She takes the first sip of her drink, and nearly chokes on the burn of the alcohol. "Damn, that's a lot more potent than I remember. But it tastes good, once the urge to choke dies off. Mmmm. I know my way around by the sun and stars, so perhaps I can find work as a navigator. If not, I'll adapt and improvise."

She takes another drink, this time manages to not sound like she's dying when she does so, and smiles as the warm glow reaches her stomach.
 
Savanah laughs heartily at the coughing fit from Sasha, and goes over to slap her on the back to keep the woman from choking. "Careful, now. Ye may want to take it a bit slow, if it has been so long for you to have any strong brew. Might find yourself under the table before long." She gives the other woman a wide grin. "Don't worry, though. If we are to be shipmates, you can count on me to help watch your back."
 
Sasha returns the grin of the shorter woman. "You have my thanks, Savanah, was it? Yes, that's right. Savanah. Oooh, I can feel it going to my head already. I had better slow down, like you said." She takes another drink, then realizes that she's finished her first mug full. "I wonder if our daring captain is going to be making an appearance anytime soon?"
 
When you talk of the Gloamglozer, he breathes down your neck. A clap of thunder could be heard as the door was slammed open. In the light coming in from the main bar you could see the silhouette of a tall fourthling woman. Lightning crackled through her hair. You are not entirely sure, but it seems like she even struck an intimidating pose on purpose.

"Are you ready to brace the storm?" She said.

Someone behind her coughed and the lighting seemed to adjust, breaking the seen. "Ehm ... Do you ever not make a dramatic entrance?"

"No, for I am Marion D. Tempest. Here to start on a journey of a life time." The woman responded. "And now, for our guest of honor ...

A small lanky guy could be seen coming in behind her. He looked wimpy and was quite young, but a huge medallion around his neck makes you think he is more important than you think. dae mec dae mec You recognize him as the new Most High Academe of New Sanctaphrax, Cowlcape Pentephraxis. The way he came to power was quite controversial. When the Motherstorm hit he was just a lowly scholar helping a sky pirate let go of the old Sanctaphrax as it was destroying Undertown. The old leader basically handed him the medallion in a plea to save the old city. Some support the new Most High Academe, but many think he does not deserve the title. Other party members can do a history or general charisma check of DC10 to see if you know about this event or heard the rumors.

"M-my name is Cowlcape Pentephraxis, I lead to scholars in rebuilding Sanctaphrax." He said in a timid voice.

"Great, I hope you have already done some introductions among yourselves as well. I look forward to meeting you all." Marion said. She walked over to a central chair that had been kept empty and sat down. "I see most of you are already provided with drinks. You are going to need them for what we are about to tell you."

"Some of you might have been hearing about sky ships suddenly floating down or float rocks crumbling down to dust. We are on the verge of a great disaster. A disease is spreading among all flying rocks. So far it has only been affecting smaller rocks, but if larger rocks fall down this could be the end of the Edge."

"The Motherstorm send me a vision when she struck me with her lightning. She showed me how the entire world we live on was falling down, with all the people and animals still on it. This might sound very disheartening, but she also showed me a vision of hope. She showed me other lands like ours floating in the Open Sky. We must explore those as soon as possible so we can evacuate our people to new lands or maybe even find a cure."

"In order to do that we have to get some things done first. First we need to get a Catterbird to join us, they can tug us along against strong winds or when there are none. On top of that, the Sanctaphrax scholars have been working on a new kind of compass with which we can track the origins of the storm. However it needs to be calibrated. Luckily the Most High Academe believes the need and has a way to do that."

There was a silence, but then Cowlcape spoke up. "Oh, right, that's me. Yes, far in Deepwoods there is a place called Riverrise, this is where the Motherstorm ended her journey and gave life to the Edgeriver once more. You must go there to get the energy signature."

"Also, mother Horsefeather has agreed to fund our expedition if we bring her back a barrel of water from the source, which was said to have healing properties. She has given us a ship and is willing to give anyone joining a 100 gold pieces up front and another 100 when we get back to Undertown with her water. So, after this story of doom and gloom, who is willing to come with me?"

Steamdrunk Steamdrunk Sherwood Sherwood dae mec dae mec Psychie Psychie ValkyrieRose ValkyrieRose Fluxbauble Fluxbauble
 
Savanah is somewhat shocked to hear that there is trouble brewing with the floating stones that kept everything up in the air. Somehow she had assumed that they were going to last forever. Probably everyone else did, too. But, upon hearing the news that there is hope buoys her spirits. She raises up her mug and says, "I am in! Action, adventure, and the chance to be a hero? How could I pass that up?" With that said, she downs her beer with a flourish and nods. "Lets do this!"
 
Sasha is really feeling the effects of her drink, so when Marion makes her dramatic entrance, she can't help breaking out in a fit of giggles. Once she manages to compose herself a bit, she says, "Wow. That's . . . deep. But if there is any hope of saving the lives of all these people, I'm in." Besides, two hundred gold is more money than I've seen since I left home.
 

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