Being the rest of the party still half-asleep, Sureiya go ahead and reply to the official.
"Yeah, if everything goes nicely we should we able to depart today. By the way, could I ask you an special favor? I would like to send a few coins to somewhere in Crimmor. Do you know if there's any place here where I can send a small package?

Before leaving : upgrade meliorating plate armor to +2 meliorating layered plate armor, take away monies/haggle as needed

It's no small relief that the Duke listened to his plea. Torinn nods graciously, replying, "Thank you, and extend my gratitude to Duke Prestor as well. Though that can probably wait for later with the situation as urgent as it is," he adds, looking meaningfully at Sureiya. It's not like he didn't approve of sending things back home - in fact he considered it quite thoughtful of the half-orc - but this is hardly the time to do so. "I think we'd best hurry inside and find our next target," the dragonborn says urgently, regarding their messenger with a disarming smile of confidence, "unless you needed to tell us something else before we go?"

Ask Riri to enchant Predator's hide and Farbond spellblade to +2. I check my money and remove the according value ok.

"Well, I would rather seeing this package departing today." Then, Sureiya shows a simple package; a towel tied at the ends. From the looks of it, it probably contains a few gold coins and maybe something else"
"I'll try to keep it fast and clean alright? I'm kinda used to this place already, so I just need to know where can I pay for this service.
Once this is finished I will join you without delay."

Upgrade Cloak of Resistance +1 to +2, I think I have enough gold+mats to get it.

While rejoining his companions, Folka stretches to get the sleep out of his system the whole way to the Arcanimus, and finishes doing so once they arrive. Agreeing with the others, seeing as there isn't much else to do here, he says,"Yeah, yeah. The sooner we deal with this leylines the sooner we deal with this Fell King person." Inwardly, he says,"And the sooner I get back on my own search."

"I-I'll see what I can do," the half-elf hesitantly replies, taking the "package" that Sureiya has arranged. "It shouldn't pose a problem..." Clearly a bit unnerved by Torinn, the diplomat looks to slink away as soon as possible. "A-at any rate, I'm sure they're expecting you inside, so don't let me keep you further!" With that much, the half-elf bows and departs, as quickly as he can while still being somewhat polite.

A bit surprised by the rush of the diplomat, Sureiya urges him to wait for a second and ask him for his name.
"Hey thank you, I could have gone by myself, but if you guys are that worried about this then I will trust it to you.
My name's Sureiya, sorry, Did you tell us your name?"

The half-elf seems a bit startled at first, but manages to stammer a reply to Sureiya, "Er, Eugene. My name is Eugene Erikson. L-look, you don't need to worry about payment or anything, the duke's made it pretty clear to us that we're to make things as convenient for you guys as possible around here."

"I see, well, thanks a bunch Eugene!"
Returning to the rest of the guys, the ranger asks.
"So, let's pay a visit to the Arcanimus."

The half-elf nods, and then resumes his departure. Once the party meets up inside the Arcanimus, they are greeted by an elf that none of them seems to have met before.

He is tall, spindly, and somewhat pale; with shining green eyes and long, blond hair tied in a ponytail, and wearing full-length purple robes with a gold embossing. He carries himself with grace, and spreads his arms wide when he spots the group, saying, "Ah, hello! You must be the adventurers everyone's been talking about! A dragonborn, a noble eladrin, a human and two half-breeds... yes, yes, must be you all."

The elf bows and addresses you somewhat casually thereafter, "We've not been introduced, but I am Elayne's apprentice. My name is Ilar. Urist has brought me up to speed on the recent happenings concerning that dreadful assault on the Shadowfell earlier. In Elayne's absence, I am taking over looking after the affairs she was personally involved in, which includes your affiliation with the Ducal Palace."

>>9177

"...'half-breeds', is it. He'd do well to experience having half a face."

"A pleasure to meet you, Mister Apprentice. What manner of business are we to discuss?"

"Ah, it seems there has been a small... hiccup, regarding our future plans," the elf admits, seemingly embarrassed about it. "Please follow me!"

Ilar leads you up the spiral ramp to the familiar meeting area near the top of the building. Spread out over the center table is a map of Faerun, with two red dots marked--one north of the Moonshae Isles, and one in the Plaguewrought Lands west of Tymanther. Standing near the table, flipping through a thick tome, is the familiar Urist Ironwrought. He looks up to the group as they approach, and beckons you to have a seat around the map.

"Ach, lads. Got tha sendin' froom Elayne this mornin'," Urist begins. His face switches from its default impassive to a more worried expression as he continues, "They appear ta be in noo danger, but there's been a prooblem wit' tha scryin'. The flow o' power be goin' in multiple directions. Halvangh thinks we'll be needin' ta perform tha ritual in two locations instead o' one more ta get an accurate read inta tha Shadowfell."

"Which leads us to our next problem," Ilar interjects, placing a delicate finger over the dot north of the Moonshae Isles. "The prime locations themselves. Elayne has managed to pinpoint the ideal locations at which to perform the ritual, given the results of your earlier excursion. You see, this one is emanating from somewhere deep underwater--about a half-dozen miles below sea level, and this one--" he shifts his finger to the other marker, and says, "Is likewise more than a half-dozen miles above sea level. Somewhere far above the ground. Likely lodged in one of the plague-changed hovering islands that dot the sky above Faerun nowadays."

"But that's closer to home than I'm comfortable with," Torinn muses to himself.

"So we need to go to one of these two locations now?" he replies aloud. "Personally I'd be more comfortable above water than below it at this point, if that matters."

Sariel eyes the map curiously.

"Above the Moonshae Isles?" she queries. "I happen to know my way around those isles, if that helps any. Unless," her gaze shifts to the Dragonborn, "there are more among us who would prefer a floating isle."

Myn shakes his head in slight exasperation. "They couldn't come up with an option closer to the ground? Although it'd be worse with that one with us."

"A change of pace from sailing would be welcome, I think. I have a small interest in earthmotes as well."

"Allow me to tell you the rest of the details," Ilar says in response to the conversation brewing amongst party members. "We are currently seeking contact with Waterdeep in regards to their formerly famous griffon-mounted knights. By all reports, they have no more griffons, but if anyone nearby knows where any are, then someone in Waterdeep will. It may, however, take some time to operate through the proper channels."

"On tha otha hand, Sid's got an idea 's tae how ta get at tha otha leyline," Urist explains, motioning carefully towards the spot near Moonshae. "'Parently he's got a contraption that'll take ye beneath the sea, an' hopefully get ye close enough tae tha leyline ta cast the ritual. He's already gone to fix it up and get it prepped. Ah think he was hopin' ye'd go see 'em." The dwarf suddenly lets out a short laugh, and adds, "Ah think he's taken a likin' ta ye!"

The elf looks exasperated and holds out his hands suddenly, "The earthmotes provide a number of difficulties when it comes to travel... if you'll give us some time, we can make the proper arrangements to see to it that you are transported safely. However, with time at a premium, it may be more prudent to proceed firstly to the undersea leyline."

A history check would be a good idea here, for anyone who wants to make one.

It's not like I can go home right now anyway. Hmm...
History Check : http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3517024/ (21)

"I would rather go to the area near Tymanther than be under the sea in some contraption that may or may not work, or safely get us there. That's just my opinion though."

"I should note that 'near Tymanther' is also more than a half-dozen miles above ground, presumably on a floating earthmote somewhere," Ilar replies, looking quizzical. "However, should you insist, we'll make the arrangements to send you to Waterdeep immediately. You'll probably have to do some of the griffon hunting yourselves in that case."

History: (Torinn, and anyone else who rolls and beats DC16) You have heard rumors that, upon the onset of the Spellplague, one of the northmost isles of Moonshae was cast beneath the waves. It's possible the sunken ruins of an ancient eladrin civilization linger somewhere around that spot.

The eladrin shrugs. "It seems a poor distribution of time to invest in hunting griffons and delay the inevitable trip to the Moonshae Isles, but I know humans and their fool-hardy insistence that problems left unattended may solve themselves."

Also history: http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3517283/

"As much as I'd like to see what happened, I'd rather tend to something we can deal with immediately rather than go off on a wild gnoll chase," Torinn notes, deciding against the floating island until they can be prepared. "In any case, is this underwater area one that sunk during the Spellplague? The one that may hold ruins from pre-Spellplague eladrin society?"

"A submersible vessel traveling to sunken ruins? Not unlike what happened in the Dawn Warrior Chronicles."

What the hell...? How about a third option?
"... Yeah, we can't wait to get into this earthmote thing. So what's the plan for the underwater leyline? ..."

History: (Sariel, and anyone who can beat DC23 History) In addition to the previously mentioned information, you know that in the year of Risen Elfkin, a fey city called Karador rose from the waters near Moonshae, marking the beginning of the domination of the isles by the eladrin. What is lesser known is that a few other larger fey cities emerged at the same time, but all of them but Karador fell into ruin following the onset of the Spellplague. In particular, the northern city of Heyl'r sank, and none of its inhabitants were ever heard from again. In the ten years between the two events, Heyl'r was emerging as a major center of art, culture, and music as part of the eladrin civilization established in Moonshae.

Urist and Ilar glance at each other in regards to Torinn's inquiry, and the elf manages a response, "That was... certainly nearby, yes. There's no way to know for certain whether or not the city sank in that particular location, however. No one's ever been down that far, to our knowledge."

"As tae tha plan," Urist explains, "Sid's planning ta take ye down there wit' his bathysphere thingy, then use tha leyline findin' gizmo you used in Koganusân. If ye'd rather head ta tha earthmote, we'd need ta send ye to Waterdeep tae find some griffons. We can get 'em fer ye if ye head on out wit' Sid, however. Sid's too nervous about goin' alone without some armed accompaniment, however, so we cannae send 'em alone."

>>9193
"We're fine with using this 'bathysphere' device first," Torinn responds quickly. "Is there anything else we need to know about it?"

"If tha be where yer intendin' ta go, then you'll need ta ask Sid fer the details. He's by the docks," Urist replies. "I admit, it's a big unnervin' since he's tha only one who seems tae really understand how thas inventions o' his work, but so far they've been quite reliable. Mostly. Yer in good hands wit' him, a'least."

"Well well, I think we should give a look a this invention before taking our decision. So, Myn, Folka. What do you say? I don't like much the idea either, but we can't afford to waste time playing hunters right now."

"Actually, before that, I was told that you were to provide us with some 'items of value' before we set out?"

"I suppose it would do no good to go to the earthmote alone, at least. " "Such deep places tend to have interesting things as well, so perhaps it's not a waste of time."

"Ah, yes, that," the elf replies a bit hesitantly. "Well, we've managed to procure a few things for you, as per the duke's request... we are doing everything we can to provide you with further assistance, within reason."

Ilar reaches into his pouch and pulls out a few magical items, placing them on the table.

The items include a battle standard of healing, three elixirs of water walking (which you can imbibe as a minor action to walk on the surface of water until the end of the current encounter), two elixirs of water breathing, a horse's breath, an eternal chalk, and a chime of opening.

Sariel eyes the battle standard.

"Helpful, considering our last one got... displaced," she comments. "Does anyone mind if I take it along, then? I suppose since the shaman left us, someone will have to work on support, and I haven't quite been able to effect much with my magic thus far."

The Ranger mood get crushed at Sariel words, so he vaguely reply too her.
"... Sure, go ahead."

"At any rate, if the undersea escapade is your choice, then I suggest heading out to see Sid at the docks as soon as you have finished your preparations," says Ilar, bowing. "I wish you luck in your endeavor."

Darn, we barely know each other, Why do her disappearance feels so frustrating?
I hope the drows help her to return safe, as for us we have no time to lose.

"Should we go there then?" "I can't wait to see what Sid has ready for us now." Say the orc, in his usual sarcastic tone

Sariel eyes the group.

"Then we're ready, are we not? Let us set off to... whatever his name was. Shid?"

The group departs the Arcanimus, and arrives at the docks. The last time they came here, it was to head to Waterdeep for their journey to Many-Arrows, and this time the docks are considerably less crowded. There is also additional security, as a few heavily-armored individuals seem to be scattered amongst the cityfolk, presumably members of the Flaming Fist, keeping an eye on things.

It's easy to spot where Sid is, as one of the docks is not housing a sailing ship, but a ship-sized metal vehicle. Unlike a wooden ship, this one seems mostly submerged, with only a small extension actually reachable from the dock, sealed by a hatch. The strange vehicle is shaped something like an elongated oval, and is a metallic gray in color.

A gnome is perched upon the vehicle's back, and it appears a metal panel has been removed from the hull. He is busily fiddling with the ship's innards, apparently using magic in the process, and does not notice your approach. You quickly recognize the gnome as Sid, though his face and clothes are so stained by grease it was hard to tell at first.

"Ahoy there!" Torinn calls out to Sid, admiring the smooth metallic submersible, "Is this your new vehicle for plumbing the depths of the ocean?"

Sid is a bit startled by the dragonborn's approach, fumbling and sending one of his tools flying into the air, but he quickly composes himself and snatches it as it falls before turning back to the approaching dragonborn. "Ah, very very good! You're here! I was just making some last-minute adjustments to my latest..." the gnome stands, and gestures dramatically to the metallic vehicle, saying, "...the Undersea Beta Zero Autonomous Transport! Indeed, it as you surmised, it is designed to travel deep under the waves without succumbing to water pressure, and without the possibility of leaks! Yes, yes, I've woven many protective wards into the hull, just in case. No fear, no fear, comrades! This baby is safe, super safe in fact! I guarantee it, and I'll be personally accompanying you this time around to make sure you are transported there and back safely!"

Sid stands atop his contraption, hands on his hips, apparently beaming with pride over his work.

The eladrin remains a little unimpressed.

"How long would the trip take us?"

>>9224
>>9223
"It looks really good Sid! But I'm still a bit worried about this. Do it has any kind of defense against undersea creatures?"

Sid begins to climb back onto the dock, first working his way along the hull and then heading towards the hatch. As he does so, he explains, "The trip is a few hundred miles. Luckily, this baby gets about 12 knots. Trip should take no more than two days! But as to the question of sea monsters..." He looks to the half-orc uneasily, and says, "I'm not a designer of weapons. However, the guidance system includes a device that can broadcast very powerful sonar pulses, which should ward off any troublesome wildlife. Furthermore, this hull's heavily reinforced with both fine craftsmanship and magic wards. Pressure's a far greater concern than weaponry, but she's built to withstand both, I assure you."

The gnome turns away for a moment in order to pop open the hatch, then turns back to the group and suggests, "I know she's not quite as spacious as the average sailing vessel, but I've tried to make it roomy enough for a small group to travel for a few weeks without becoming uncomfortable. We'll only be a few days, so I don't reckon it'll be a problem!"

"12 knots? That's... Faster than an airship!" Torinn exclaims in awe after spending several seconds mentally translating the speed to something more conventional (and using his fingers to count). Being the first to step forward onto the craft, he pats the gnome on the back (gently!) and grins when he says, "You've really outdone yourself this time with this... UBZAT of yours. I'm impressed." Getting caught up in curiosity, he requests, "Mind showing us around below deck after we set off?"

Of course, the dragonborn has already climbed down the hatch by the time he asks. A curious mixture of eagerness and urgency driving him on. There was a lot at stake, after all. "Come on, you lot!" he calls back to the group, voice booming, "Quit being scaredy kobolds and get in here!"

"Scaredy kobolds? hahaha, I will show him later."
Giving a small peek to the boat, Sureiya asks.
"That should do the trick. Is this boy ready to depart?"

"Oh, aye! She sure is, ready to go!" Sid replies, nodding enthusiastically. "It's real a shame the Starlight Intercontinental Delver won't be ready in time for your other assignment, but she still needs a few months of work. Even the name on that one is still a work in progress!" Beckoning you towards the hatch, he says, "Now don't be shy, go ahead and climb on in when you're ready to go!"

Myn boards the watery metal deathtrap.

Sariel facepalms. "What brightened Grumpy Old Man's day?" She boards anyway.

Folka gets on the weird submarine thing.

The group boards the transport without much more incident. After entering, each of you needs to climb a short, stable metal ladder down a well-lit upwards corridor that leads into the belly of the ship, which is sparsely decorated. Sid indicates that the controls are towards the front of the ship, in a cockpit-like area with a great many magical and mechanical gizmos that are indecipherable at first glance. Towards the back, the ship's center level splits into two levels of sleeping areas with a connecting common area, that is perhaps unexpectedly spacious, and there are two unused rooms that have desks and chairs set up in them. The sleeping areas are individually separated, and though not very big, furbished with comfortable-looking cots and with shelves set into the walls for personal effects (that can be sealed off in case the transport happens to roll or tilt).

Once you've been shown around the ship, Sid makes his way back to the front of the ship and begins to work the controls until the ship begins to back out of the port and head out to open sea. He tells you that you'll be remaining near the surface for most of the journey, and only submerge when you're close to the destination.

In the meantime, you have two days for yourselves.

Brief time to interact or whatever you want, because we're starting a new adventure/dungeon crawl when we reach the area near the leyline. I'll be updating again in a day or two to start this.

Asking a fair number of questions along the way, Torinn watches Sid steer the ship for a couple minutes before heading back to the commons. Anybody else he runs into is informed which room he decided on, and that he needed to store some items away for safekeeping.

When he reaches his quarters, Torinn pulls the bound package out of his bag of holding - half a half-dozen thick books that he'd borrowed from Halvangh's tower and finished reading - and delicately sets it inside. As well as the rest of the books he was lent, save one. Then he seals them up tight, ensuring that, even if something happens, Halvangh's old books should be safe for a while.

Finally, with all of that out of the way, Torinn returns through the commons and settles into a chair with his latest tale. The faded letters on the cover are almost completely illegible, though there is a somewhat preserved woodcut of an eladrin on the cover.

And he begins to read silently.

"Traveling is boring, and traveling by sea is doubly so... although, it's a rare chance to remain clean for once. If that fell fool were to attack the city, we wouldn't be made to journey for weeks on end, at least."

Myn wanders over to a cot, attempting to entertain himself during the downtime with his small supply of wine.

>>9245
New thread!