Session Eight: Flying along the Cloudwalk
General Summary
2 Eleasis
Getting back to Bipplebopple's home, they all settle in for the night to rest and recover. Seeing Piper still struggling, Anya took her outside to sleep, casting Alarm and keeping watch over her with Tal's help, while Rayne and Stefan get their rest inside. Sikander does eventually get to bed, but not after he and Bipplebopple sat up for several hours at the gnome's insistence to hear more of his heroic tales.
3 Eleasis
Rising the next day, they get some breakfast and head off to find Kieto, but are met with a thick, odd fog that is typically mystic of origin and develops with little warning; many in Cloudhook believe it is a sign of bad luck. It is so thick, Sikander nearly walks off the edge (catching himself as Anya grabs his collar) while they head toward the gnome busy at work. Coming closer, there is a lot of discussion around how long to wait, what Kieto can accomplish and what they wanted to have finished before leaving. Ultimately, they realize their decision rests on whether they intend to walk or fly, prompting Anya to suggest Sikander use his special coin, with heads being the ship and tails as walking. A quick flip landing on heads leads them into an unnecessarily long discussion around the figurehead, starting with a well-endowed Leprechaun "pointing" way, a more tasteful one of Tymora, and finally settling on a beautiful, veil-covered one of Selune. Kieto advises he can get it air-worthy and attach the chosen figurehead in about 3 hours for another 500gp. There is some back and forth with Anya and Sikander, with the latter finally agreeing to cover the cost.
They spend their time with Bipplebopple, making the young Sikkie's day having spent so much time with his hero. Once "The Sky's Fear" is ready - air worthy, newly painted name, and new Selune figurehead (glowing slightly) - they all board, bidding Bipplebopple and Kieto farewell. While they discuss who will do what positions, Sikander draws Wibbles, swings it high, and severs the rope, sending Anya scrambling to get the engine on and Rayne steering to keep them from plummeting into the canyon. Once the ship is evened out, Tal heads to the bow and stays close to Piper while Stefan kicks back and relaxes.
Looking out across the way, the large sailing vessels are visible traveling along the leylines, including one called the US Medvin making its way toward Cloudhook. They sail for about three hours, during which Rayne shares more of his story about the mission he had been on for Selune in space and and the ship he was on that was piloted by hippos. Once they took possession of that ship, he told them about the moon dragon his group rescued and how they saw Selune's domain up close. Anya is in awe hearing his stories, while Sikander and Stefan question some of them, especially about the dragons and being able to see Selune's home.
Looking off the portside, the Cloudwalk is visible - a long bridge clearly of dwarven make and reminiscent of Derfelt when Rayne looks down on it - like a ribbon to a mesa. Wanting to find a spyglass for Rayne, Anya heads below with Tal, searching through drawers hoping to find something of use. Opening one drawer, something long and rat-like scratches Anya and jumps out, hiding under a shelf. Trying again, she flushes it out, but it hides behind several sacks. Between Anya and Tal, they manage to capture a bizarre, scaled creature with no eyes, large nose, six legs, and prehensile claws - finally recognizing it as a hazard lizard. Tal grabs it in his mouth as Anya gathers everything from the drawer and they head back above. She takes the sack of things to Rayne, assuming Tal follows, but he takes the creature to Sikander instead. As the dwarf reaches for it, the lizard lunges at him and it latches onto his face. Running for him, Anya helps pull it off and they throw it overboard. As they do, a muskie comes out of the clouds below and snaps up the falling lizard, reminding the group of the dangers lurking below.
Shaking her head and scooping up the rum Sikander had been drinking (dropping it into the bag of holding), Anya returns to Rayne as he looks through the various items. They find a telescope, bailer's hook, box of hard tack, and a small, locked container. Sikander scoops the box up and tries to open it without checking for traps, getting stabbed by a small needle. Very quickly, he begins to have gills form on his neck, freaking Anya out. She takes the box, taking a more careful look, but still gets stabbed herself. As time passes, Rayne recognizes the toxin must be from a Philoxia picksis and that the effect can be either temporary or permanent with no why of knowing. As time passes, Sikander eventually takes on a silvery, scaled look with his nose falling off, fins popping out the top of his head, and the gills along his neck, while Anya finds her hands slowly changing to tentacles, her skin becoming iridescent as a changes color with her mood, as well as the ability to spit ink and her teeth slowly becoming tentacles protruding from her mouth.
Rayne finally manages to open the box, finding a small bottle connected to the box, a beautiful Deck of the Airman cards (seem to have magical properties - always showing the truth and have a better than average chance at winning games of chance). Pulling a card, he sees the back image is of a beautiful, black skyship seeming to float through the clouds, while the image on the flip side has the Sylvan word "Stultus" ("The Fool") and portrays a sailor falling from a skyship toward a massive, flying fish and an anaconda trying to bite at the falling sailor. Anya looks over his shoulder and giggles reading the card and seeing the image. He shuffles them, finding it smooth and easy, continuing to admire the art on the cards. While they are checking out the cards, and continuing to slowly change, Rayne gently lands them on the mesa and notices religious iconography off in the distance on Coomb's Landing - a ring of stones Rayne feels quite drawn to. As they disembark, Anya checks in with Piper, who shares she sometimes has these fits that can't be controlled and always precipitated by the smell of lemons. Concerned, she tries to check Piper, but doesn't find anything of particular note.
Ahead, Rayne is taking a closer look around the area and finds evidence of the archeological dig team, notably a pouch with a magnifying glass and a note, which reads:
"Dearest father,
I wish you not to worry about me as this was for the best. I know you wish for me to continue the family tradition, but that is not my life. I need to find my own path, and I go to discover the old ones. One day, you'll be proud of me and my accomplishments with the archeological finds we are making.
~ Snowbus"
As he finishes reading the note aloud, both Rayne and Anya feel a presence but cannot place it. Taking a closer look, Anya walks toward the stone at the nine-o-clock position, when a giant spider like monster jumps out at them. It attacks them, draws power from the statues, and raises an ancient dwarf zombie. Anya (as a bear squid) and Rayne attack the spider while Sikander and Stefan deal with the dwarf zombie. Sikander notices the dwarf is armored superior to anything he'd ever seen before and he, Anya, and Stefan learn quickly the zombie does not care much Sikander, calling him small, inferior, and an underdwarf. They all continue fighting - Anya in her animal form, Rayne with Eclipse and his full moon guardians, Stefan in his raging beast form, and Sikander with Wibbles (hearing the occasional whispered encouragement). As Sikander finishes off the dwarf, he hears a final insult, being called "Kᚨᚱᚨᛏcᚺ" (Karatch), or a thing that is made, like a tool. Very quickly, the spider creature is also brought down. Searching and harvesting from the two bodies, a black pearl like object is removed from the spider by Rayne, who squeezes the pearl out. Sikander heads closer to the fallen dwarf zombie, noting the incredible armor that fills him with reverence. He takes a moment to put it on, watching it magically shrink to fit his dimensions, then notices a device on the breastplate - the Traystrike of the Dreignor and one that is both sacred and feared. Sikander is less sure about his choice to wear the armor, but finds himself unable to remove it for some unknown reason. He is also cured of his fishy transformation, finding his face and skin returned to normal and the gills now gone. As the others look on, they see him take on a more powerful stance, obviously stronger as result.
Rayne, seeing the changes and restoration in Sikander, suggests Anya take the ring of feather fall hoping it would restore her as well. Skeptical, she puts it on and is relieved to be restored to herself again. She and Rayne take a closer look at the statues and realize they are laid out as the lunar calendar, with the four aspects of Selune present (Anya investigate Hecate, the new moon, which prompted the spider's appearance.). Rayne take a moment to pray at the foot of the full moon aspect of the goddess, as the others quietly look on.
Boarding "The Sky's Fear", they travel three hours to the next mesa, arriving quite late into the night at "The Hill of the Friendly Giant". Deciding to sleep then investigate, Anya sets alarms around the ship so they can rest easier, along with watches. Nothing sets off the alarms, but they hear a variety of howling and chittering over several hours until the sun finally rises over the desert cliffs. 4 Eleasis
This mesa is free of anything obvious save a small hillock. Looking around, Anya manages to locate a small scorpion, a very stinky one whose name is Stinky Pete. She scoops him up and attempts to show Sikander, who continues backing away from her until he gets to the edge of the cliff. Finally relenting, she tries to set the little scorpion free, but he has taken a liking to her, so she decides to keep him. (The animal list at this point includes: Tal the Blink Dog (ranger companion), Molly the Cliffcat (emergency means of contact), Stinky Pete the Scorpion (Anya's pet)) As comments are made about the growing number of animals Anya has "collected", she retorts that she has also "acquired" the companionship of Sikander...much to the amusement of Stefan.
Rayne, attempting to keep them on task, investigates the area and finds a mark on a rock from the Candlekeep team, deducing it to be carved by Eliander. They discuss how best to proceed, opting to continue to the next mesa and backtrack if necessary while searching for the missing group. Piling back onto the ship, Sikander and Rayne discuss testing the ballista, and as the go ahead is given, a card from the Deck of the Airman falls out, showing a large, skeletal hawklike bird attacking an airship with the word "Mors" (Death) written across the top. Sikander fires and watches the bolt drift down into the fog below, when a massive Roc comes flying up, angered at being hit with the falling bolt.
"The Sky's Fear" is damaged while the group works to distract the Roc with magical darkness, shooting it again, and sending Anya's owls to harry it. At one point, Sikander and Tal are knocked overboard, prompting Tal to use his harness to get them both back to safety.
Session ended with the party attempting to flee toward the next stop, with six owls and the magical darkness still affecting the Roc.
Getting back to Bipplebopple's home, they all settle in for the night to rest and recover. Seeing Piper still struggling, Anya took her outside to sleep, casting Alarm and keeping watch over her with Tal's help, while Rayne and Stefan get their rest inside. Sikander does eventually get to bed, but not after he and Bipplebopple sat up for several hours at the gnome's insistence to hear more of his heroic tales.
3 Eleasis
Rising the next day, they get some breakfast and head off to find Kieto, but are met with a thick, odd fog that is typically mystic of origin and develops with little warning; many in Cloudhook believe it is a sign of bad luck. It is so thick, Sikander nearly walks off the edge (catching himself as Anya grabs his collar) while they head toward the gnome busy at work. Coming closer, there is a lot of discussion around how long to wait, what Kieto can accomplish and what they wanted to have finished before leaving. Ultimately, they realize their decision rests on whether they intend to walk or fly, prompting Anya to suggest Sikander use his special coin, with heads being the ship and tails as walking. A quick flip landing on heads leads them into an unnecessarily long discussion around the figurehead, starting with a well-endowed Leprechaun "pointing" way, a more tasteful one of Tymora, and finally settling on a beautiful, veil-covered one of Selune. Kieto advises he can get it air-worthy and attach the chosen figurehead in about 3 hours for another 500gp. There is some back and forth with Anya and Sikander, with the latter finally agreeing to cover the cost.
They spend their time with Bipplebopple, making the young Sikkie's day having spent so much time with his hero. Once "The Sky's Fear" is ready - air worthy, newly painted name, and new Selune figurehead (glowing slightly) - they all board, bidding Bipplebopple and Kieto farewell. While they discuss who will do what positions, Sikander draws Wibbles, swings it high, and severs the rope, sending Anya scrambling to get the engine on and Rayne steering to keep them from plummeting into the canyon. Once the ship is evened out, Tal heads to the bow and stays close to Piper while Stefan kicks back and relaxes.
Looking out across the way, the large sailing vessels are visible traveling along the leylines, including one called the US Medvin making its way toward Cloudhook. They sail for about three hours, during which Rayne shares more of his story about the mission he had been on for Selune in space and and the ship he was on that was piloted by hippos. Once they took possession of that ship, he told them about the moon dragon his group rescued and how they saw Selune's domain up close. Anya is in awe hearing his stories, while Sikander and Stefan question some of them, especially about the dragons and being able to see Selune's home.
Looking off the portside, the Cloudwalk is visible - a long bridge clearly of dwarven make and reminiscent of Derfelt when Rayne looks down on it - like a ribbon to a mesa. Wanting to find a spyglass for Rayne, Anya heads below with Tal, searching through drawers hoping to find something of use. Opening one drawer, something long and rat-like scratches Anya and jumps out, hiding under a shelf. Trying again, she flushes it out, but it hides behind several sacks. Between Anya and Tal, they manage to capture a bizarre, scaled creature with no eyes, large nose, six legs, and prehensile claws - finally recognizing it as a hazard lizard. Tal grabs it in his mouth as Anya gathers everything from the drawer and they head back above. She takes the sack of things to Rayne, assuming Tal follows, but he takes the creature to Sikander instead. As the dwarf reaches for it, the lizard lunges at him and it latches onto his face. Running for him, Anya helps pull it off and they throw it overboard. As they do, a muskie comes out of the clouds below and snaps up the falling lizard, reminding the group of the dangers lurking below.
Shaking her head and scooping up the rum Sikander had been drinking (dropping it into the bag of holding), Anya returns to Rayne as he looks through the various items. They find a telescope, bailer's hook, box of hard tack, and a small, locked container. Sikander scoops the box up and tries to open it without checking for traps, getting stabbed by a small needle. Very quickly, he begins to have gills form on his neck, freaking Anya out. She takes the box, taking a more careful look, but still gets stabbed herself. As time passes, Rayne recognizes the toxin must be from a Philoxia picksis and that the effect can be either temporary or permanent with no why of knowing. As time passes, Sikander eventually takes on a silvery, scaled look with his nose falling off, fins popping out the top of his head, and the gills along his neck, while Anya finds her hands slowly changing to tentacles, her skin becoming iridescent as a changes color with her mood, as well as the ability to spit ink and her teeth slowly becoming tentacles protruding from her mouth.
Rayne finally manages to open the box, finding a small bottle connected to the box, a beautiful Deck of the Airman cards (seem to have magical properties - always showing the truth and have a better than average chance at winning games of chance). Pulling a card, he sees the back image is of a beautiful, black skyship seeming to float through the clouds, while the image on the flip side has the Sylvan word "Stultus" ("The Fool") and portrays a sailor falling from a skyship toward a massive, flying fish and an anaconda trying to bite at the falling sailor. Anya looks over his shoulder and giggles reading the card and seeing the image. He shuffles them, finding it smooth and easy, continuing to admire the art on the cards. While they are checking out the cards, and continuing to slowly change, Rayne gently lands them on the mesa and notices religious iconography off in the distance on Coomb's Landing - a ring of stones Rayne feels quite drawn to. As they disembark, Anya checks in with Piper, who shares she sometimes has these fits that can't be controlled and always precipitated by the smell of lemons. Concerned, she tries to check Piper, but doesn't find anything of particular note.
Ahead, Rayne is taking a closer look around the area and finds evidence of the archeological dig team, notably a pouch with a magnifying glass and a note, which reads:
"Dearest father,
I wish you not to worry about me as this was for the best. I know you wish for me to continue the family tradition, but that is not my life. I need to find my own path, and I go to discover the old ones. One day, you'll be proud of me and my accomplishments with the archeological finds we are making.
~ Snowbus"
As he finishes reading the note aloud, both Rayne and Anya feel a presence but cannot place it. Taking a closer look, Anya walks toward the stone at the nine-o-clock position, when a giant spider like monster jumps out at them. It attacks them, draws power from the statues, and raises an ancient dwarf zombie. Anya (as a bear squid) and Rayne attack the spider while Sikander and Stefan deal with the dwarf zombie. Sikander notices the dwarf is armored superior to anything he'd ever seen before and he, Anya, and Stefan learn quickly the zombie does not care much Sikander, calling him small, inferior, and an underdwarf. They all continue fighting - Anya in her animal form, Rayne with Eclipse and his full moon guardians, Stefan in his raging beast form, and Sikander with Wibbles (hearing the occasional whispered encouragement). As Sikander finishes off the dwarf, he hears a final insult, being called "Kᚨᚱᚨᛏcᚺ" (Karatch), or a thing that is made, like a tool. Very quickly, the spider creature is also brought down. Searching and harvesting from the two bodies, a black pearl like object is removed from the spider by Rayne, who squeezes the pearl out. Sikander heads closer to the fallen dwarf zombie, noting the incredible armor that fills him with reverence. He takes a moment to put it on, watching it magically shrink to fit his dimensions, then notices a device on the breastplate - the Traystrike of the Dreignor and one that is both sacred and feared. Sikander is less sure about his choice to wear the armor, but finds himself unable to remove it for some unknown reason. He is also cured of his fishy transformation, finding his face and skin returned to normal and the gills now gone. As the others look on, they see him take on a more powerful stance, obviously stronger as result.
Rayne, seeing the changes and restoration in Sikander, suggests Anya take the ring of feather fall hoping it would restore her as well. Skeptical, she puts it on and is relieved to be restored to herself again. She and Rayne take a closer look at the statues and realize they are laid out as the lunar calendar, with the four aspects of Selune present (Anya investigate Hecate, the new moon, which prompted the spider's appearance.). Rayne take a moment to pray at the foot of the full moon aspect of the goddess, as the others quietly look on.
Boarding "The Sky's Fear", they travel three hours to the next mesa, arriving quite late into the night at "The Hill of the Friendly Giant". Deciding to sleep then investigate, Anya sets alarms around the ship so they can rest easier, along with watches. Nothing sets off the alarms, but they hear a variety of howling and chittering over several hours until the sun finally rises over the desert cliffs. 4 Eleasis
This mesa is free of anything obvious save a small hillock. Looking around, Anya manages to locate a small scorpion, a very stinky one whose name is Stinky Pete. She scoops him up and attempts to show Sikander, who continues backing away from her until he gets to the edge of the cliff. Finally relenting, she tries to set the little scorpion free, but he has taken a liking to her, so she decides to keep him. (The animal list at this point includes: Tal the Blink Dog (ranger companion), Molly the Cliffcat (emergency means of contact), Stinky Pete the Scorpion (Anya's pet)) As comments are made about the growing number of animals Anya has "collected", she retorts that she has also "acquired" the companionship of Sikander...much to the amusement of Stefan.
Rayne, attempting to keep them on task, investigates the area and finds a mark on a rock from the Candlekeep team, deducing it to be carved by Eliander. They discuss how best to proceed, opting to continue to the next mesa and backtrack if necessary while searching for the missing group. Piling back onto the ship, Sikander and Rayne discuss testing the ballista, and as the go ahead is given, a card from the Deck of the Airman falls out, showing a large, skeletal hawklike bird attacking an airship with the word "Mors" (Death) written across the top. Sikander fires and watches the bolt drift down into the fog below, when a massive Roc comes flying up, angered at being hit with the falling bolt.
"The Sky's Fear" is damaged while the group works to distract the Roc with magical darkness, shooting it again, and sending Anya's owls to harry it. At one point, Sikander and Tal are knocked overboard, prompting Tal to use his harness to get them both back to safety.
Session ended with the party attempting to flee toward the next stop, with six owls and the magical darkness still affecting the Roc.
Rewards Granted
Black pearl from spider creature
+3 Dreignor plate armor (Sikander is wearing)
Ring of Feather Fall (Anya is wearing)
Box with poisoned needle (Rayne? has possession of)
Stinky Pete the Scorpion (Anya's newest pet)
Telescope
Box of hard tack
+3 Dreignor plate armor (Sikander is wearing)
Ring of Feather Fall (Anya is wearing)
Box with poisoned needle (Rayne? has possession of)
Stinky Pete the Scorpion (Anya's newest pet)
Telescope
Box of hard tack
Missions/Quests Completed
Nothing completed - working on Hobb's mission of locating the missing team
Character(s) interacted with
Kieto
Bipplebopple
Bipplebopple
Notes
It is mid-morning on the 4th of Eleasis as we are fleeing the Roc toward the next stop on the Cloudwalk.
Report Date
02 Jun 2023
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