The dangers of Sailing

[Dayledose]

*Somewhere off the coast of sundren*


A beautiful day and the seas were nice and calm, Vigo stands on the deck of the ship only two days out of Port Aventhyr, The captain was manning the wheel, the sailors moving about the rigging and fastening different things, batting down hatches. The crew had been drinking a bit, not unusual in calm weather, at least as far as Vigo knew anyway.

Had he or at least some of the crew been paying attention, perhaps they would have seen the danger, it wasn't until the sickening crack of timber that he realized they were in trouble. The ship was going down, he didn't know why and at this point, didn't care. He was, on the other hand, scared. Swimming wasn't something he was particularly good at, thrown into the water he flailed about finally reaching a piece of floating timber that looked to be part of the mast.

He floated for a day or so, trying to keep his satchel dry and clinging to his lifeline. He called out to Mystra several times, never getting an answer. He thought he was halucinating when he saw a vision of two firey eyes looking down at him. A voice spoke into his mind and offered him a choice.

He woke up on a beach, coughing and sputtering , he was alive for the moment. He had made his choice,Mystra had abandoned him so he would serve his savior. He looked to the north and sighed. "Back to the valley it seems." he smiled at this, at least he had a purpose now, the illusion that had plagued him ,consumed his every thought at times, now forgotten. He would find the others and together they would make the valley tremble in fear.

[Qinniqtuq Aggaak]

Looking across the rock strewn beach littered with remenants of the once proud ship that had once Carried you, you count your lucky stars that you made it out in one piece as you look upon the splintered timbers and the occasional broken body that lay bloated on the beach which is currently the social meeting point for several gulls. Looking up at the sky you squint as the sun glares off of the rocky hills that seem to run parallell with the shore. You gather your wits about you as you check on your waterlogged gear, much of it having thankfully survived, and you breathe a sigh of relief that your spellbook has also come out of the ordeal relatively unscathed, perhaps a couple hours of sun and cantrips would mend it to where it would be as dry as a bone, and not sodden as it currently is.




This is where a knowledge/geography check would be useful, or an Int check if should you not have ranks in it. If you wish to do so, you can post the link of your roll from here

[Dayledose]

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2204668/

[Qinniqtuq Aggaak]

Looking about with salt stung eyes along the rocky shore, you really cannot quite gather where you are particularly at. You are well aware that the shorline that stretches on is essentially the same type of coast that stretches from Sestra to the mere of dead men and so you could be anywhere between the two locations... perhaps even farther south if the current had taken you farther. Still though, you are able to discern to where North and south lay due to the afternoon sun.

[Dayledose]

Vigo decides to follow the coast, heading in a northerly direction, he keeps on the look out for a fishing Village. Trying to avoid combat by using invisibility, he treks along with a singular goal in his head. "I must return, it is my destiny" .

[Qinniqtuq Aggaak]

With the afternoon sun at your back, you begin make your way along the rocky shore. The trek it turns out is quite a workout to your old bones, and after half an hour of making your way along the jumble of boulders, rocks, sand and tidal pools, you feel as if you had trekked a hundred miles at a good job.

The continual roar of the waves from the open ocean is a constant drone occasionally pierced by the cries of nearby seabirds. Dangers don't seem to be overly present, with the exception of the occasionally slippery rock, although as you near a rocky bend, the wind had blown a foul smell in your direction and grunts and bellows can be heard not far off. Having been prepared for possible dangers, you quickly recite your invisibility dweomer to cloak you from any foe. Making your way around the bend you come across what can only be considered a 'herd' of large sea mammals, sunning themselves on the rock in their blubbery glory. Watching some of the males flop about grunting out their station, you are thankful that you did cloak yourself, as they are large enough to easily crush you if they were to somehow charge. Still, you take a wide berth of the herd, heading inland a bit to circumvent any accident of one of the large beasts rolling over and smooshing your invisible form.

Heading a hundred feet inland required scaling a rocky hill of bedrock. Once on level ground, you take a moment to catch your breath after the climb rubbing your sore joints. From this vantage point some 60' high, you can see the hilly and broken shoreline stretches away into the horizon... in both directions. However as you squint in all directions, you had taken notice of two things: You can see a dot way out in the ocean where another ship is slowly sailing, in which direction you are unsure at this point, and also along the northerly route you intend to take, you can see a haze beyond the horizon indicating smoke that is most likely next to the shoreline but most likely a day or three away.

[Dayledose]

Seeing the dot of the ship, he shakes his head. "Not worth trying for right now, best head north, must keep going". He heads towards the smoke on the horizon.

[Qinniqtuq Aggaak]

Vigo continues northward along the rocky coast, giving his body a workout he hasn't had in several years as he tackles the broken and uneven jumble of bedrock, tidal inlets, estuary marshland, and sinkhole ridden karst. The worst of it had been overcome with timely used dimensional doors, but due the limitations of daily spellcasting he has saved those for the most dangerous of obsticals, the rest had to be endured the old fashioned way.

After several hours of this effort, you find that the light is fading earlier than usual. Out to sea a darkening blotch of clouds can be seen getting larger and larger as the front moves towards shore. You had found a suitable overhang along the shore that would shelter from the coming storm. The storm itself you found was one of those systems that were short but violent, much like the one that had torn your ship asunder, but luckily you remain dry within the protection provided by the porus limestone. Soon it had passed allowing the stars to pierce the night sky once agian and Selune soon crests the horizon streaking the dark waters with a silver band.

You had taken some moments to stretch your stiff legs along the beach under the light provided by the rising moon. Quite some distance away, you see the twinkle of lights along the shore where the town or village you are travelling to is significantly closer, but still at least a day or two walk away. A brighter light had caught your eye, flickering like a candle in the wind. It appears to be near the village, but possibly out in the water. The brightness though gives you the impression that it is indeed a large fire, possibly a boat, or if it is on shore, a building. You soon retire back to your rocky shelter preparing for another grueling march the following day.

********

The new day itself is of the overcast type that seems to keep the observer wondering whether it will rain or not. Nevertheless you continue north. As the day progresses you soon come to evidence of what you had witnessed last night was indeed a fire on a boat, as you begin to pass charred flotsam and debris that was spread along the coast by the constant tides. Nothing of what is washed ashore was significant enough to warrent your attention, but you soon catch movement up ahead along the rocky shore of a lone figure staggering towards you. From this distance you can see that this disheveled soul may have endured a similar style of exodus of his or her ship as you did, and by this point it appears that this person has not taken notice of you.... yet.

[Dayledose]

Using an Invisibility spell, Vigo approaches the person cautiously. Keeping on the lookout for anything that could Identify this person or give away their intentions. Vigo moves as quietly as he can to keep himself from being noticed.

[Qinniqtuq Aggaak]

Taking the opportunity of not being noticed, you intend to keep it that way and quickly cloak yourself with an invisibility enchantment. Satisfied with your now undetectable presence you walk towards the man as he walks towards you. He is a sodden mess appearing to have recently only drug himself from umberlees clutches. His apparel, although dishevelled would appear to be of the finer sort generally worn by an officer or captain and not a common seaman. He appears to be mumbleing to himself as you near; Mostly curses from what you can make out as he drags his feet in the opposite direction you head. He makes no notice* of you as he begins to walk by, but you certainly notice that this fellow appears to have also come out of a fight as you can now make out gashes in his wet clothes and the hint of a stain of red beneath the dark blue garmets.



*I was going to ask to do an move silent to oppose his listen check, but seeing that I rolled a 2, I'd say probability was on your side.

[Dayledose]

Vigo shakes his head as he passes the man, not seeing how he can be of help, Vigo continues on northward.

[Qinniqtuq Aggaak]

You leave the bedraggled fellow to wander south as you continue on north. By the time your invisibility wore off, you were already a good half mile along the shore away from the man with a wide rocky point separating you two. You continue to take the rough shore, and as the hours pass you find yourself soaked with sea spray and drizzle as the clouds did decide to open up after all. By the time the overcast sky begins to darken, you make your way to the apex of yet another inlet and as you round the bend, you can see a large port-village nestled among the rocky shore.

[Dayledose]

Vigo makes his way to a shelterd spot, trying to find a good spot to make a camp and rest. Keeping an eye out for anything that could pose a threat. "I must be careful now, sometimes folk don't take well to strangers. Perhaps I can study the village? Hmm.. that might be taken as spying." He shakes his head trying to think of what to do next. "Well first, some food then rest and I can take a fresh look tomorrow." Vigo looks around for rabbit trails or some other game that might provide a good source of food. Not being well versed with nature he struggles a bit trying to hunt some source of nurishment before making camp.

[Qinniqtuq Aggaak]

With the prematurely darkening sky, you move inland for a short bit in search of a decent resting area. A couple hundred yards beyond the rocky bluffs, stunted fur trees thickly cover the rocky landscape. Your stomach rumbles, and you feel you could eat anything that may cross your path, and so you take to searching the edge of the woods to see if any game trails lead you to anything palatable.

You can always attempt a survival roll to see how your foraging would go.

[Dayledose]

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2222926/