Argos: Angler's Spire

[Moveslikejagger]

 

Atus sat up, 'Ow' tracing an idle tendril of smoke that rose from his body until the tendril became lost in the driving rain. He could hear several raindrops sizzle at they hit his metal skin, and he knew he probably reeked of ozone and seared metal. He rolled to his knees, "Ow', and then took his finger and scorched into the unbroken boards the full message given to him by Dajel.

Beside it he sketched the image seared into him, the burned and cyclonic shaped tallshank, with the thunderstorm nearby raining books and scrolls. He muttered to himself all the while, punctuated with an occasional groan, completely focused on his task at hand and ignoring everything and everyone around him.

After a few minutes of busy scorching, Dajel's words and vision were writ large, taking up a lot of space on the deck.

Dajel's Answer

"The spark, a tempest, it thinks it be, The past and future it hopes to see, If the spark, a storm like me, Then past and future shall be thee.

First for roots that stretch below; The thunder's gale an undertoe, The whirlwind snared by deadly foe, To free would strike Bloom a blow.

Then for stars that burn and sear, One that fell, then lost to years. From its passage come your fears, Born, the beast, from pain and tears."

 

With that done, Atus sat back on his heels and rubbed his chin, with a sound like hardened metal scratching at hardened metal before giving a joyful laugh. Two clues from Dajel, one about the Bloom and one about my past. The second stanza, that's the clue about the Bloom. Atus touched the drawing he'd made. A physical location? He felt that was right, which meant the third stanza was about him. He tried to make sense of it and failed to immediately appreciate its nuance, but his gaze lingered on the last line. The beast? That sounds ... prophetic. Am I meant to be the beast? It was at this moment that he seemed to become more aware of his surroundings, his eyes resting on the damage he'd caused to the ship.

"Ah rust it!" he said in apparent frustration and began turning towards the ship workshop for materials to repair the damage. It was then he spotted Park and a Gau he didn't recognize. "Sorry. I damaged the ship. I'll just...."

 

[Dr Jackal]

Tharr sighs and climbs to the deck, tea in hand. Still damp from the walk home, he does not feel particularly eager to step out into the rain, and instead stands in the doorway.

He looks at the ironbound's writing for a moment, then sighs deeply. "Really, Atus? Must you?" he asks, already knowing that the answer will be some version of 'Of course.'

"Everyone is welcome belowdecks. I have just made a pot of a blend popular in my tallshank. Park, I also have an ... item that you might wish to look at."

[yxanthymir]

---

Park Stadium | AspectsBloodline: Ardent

- Tough as Nails (4-Track Trait) - You’re a natural survivor. Rolls made to treat or heal an injury you're suffering from treat conflicts as triumphs.

- Ironclad Mind (4-Track Trait) - You are immune to hallucinations, mesmerics and mental compulsions.

Origin: Ridgeback

- Archaeodermis (2-Track Trait) - Your skin (or whatever you have as an outer covering) mimics the mountain you were raised on. You're immune to keen damage, as well as bites and stings from small creatures.

- Shamanic Idol (4-Track Gear) - Holds a sliver of power from a not-quite-god. Deals LR salt damage.

Post: Char

- Taste Test (4-Track Trait) - You're immune to poisons, and can determine their presence and characteristics by taste alone.

- Seasoned Cleaver (2-Track Gear) - As useful on the battlefield as it is in the galley. Deals CQ hewing damage. Increase impact when acquiring dangerous or disruptive specimens.

Extra

- The Manticore Recipe (3-Track Adventure) - Park can spend an action during a montage or journey and consume a manticore bloom specimen to learn more about it. He must pass one Cook test (done), one Harvest/Tides test, and one Tend/Tides test to fill the track. When he does, he will be able to come up with a cure.

- Hakuna Matata Stew! (2-Track Adventure) It can be marked to clear two boxes of mire from a friend. | EdgesGrace, Instinct & Tides | SkillsDelve: 0
Vault: 2
Wavewalk: 0
Hunt: 2
Study: 0
Sense: 3
Harvest: 3
Scavenge: 0
Tend: 2
Concoct: 0
Cook: 3
Rattle: 0
Flourish: 0
Outwit: 0
Sway: 0
Brace: 0
Break: 0
Hack: 0 | LanguagesLow Sour | ResourcesCook Utensils (Salvage)
Bag of Spices (Specimen)
Tonic of Health (Specimen)
Liquid Fire (Specimen)
Carrion Weed (Specimen)
Manticore Bloom (Specimen)

---

 

The conversation with Captain Gourmet eased Park's mind during the return trip. The fear of the sky falling ever present in his mind. He was in a good spirit. Again he was being favored by the gods, he won a friend, learned new culinary facts, filled his belly with a delicious stew, and for once he was not robbed by dastardly squirrels or poacher lobsters.

When someone is at the top of his mood, he could only fall. That's when he finds Atus at the ship's deck.

What the f... happened here! - he lowers his head holding a closed knuckle at his forehead and takes a slow intake of breath. - Dont mind. I wont understand the answer anyway.

He presents Captain Gourmet to Tharr. Tea? I fink dat would be very gud now. Captain, you would join us? - He says already descending the stairs.

OOC

I didn't understand what this Hakuna Matata Stew could do. Could you explain again?

 

Edited May 14 by yxanthymir (see edit history)

[Moveslikejagger]

 

Atus hung his head in apparent shame, staring at the words he scorched into the deck as if they appeared by magic, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Dajel just dropped me." he said in a quiet voice looking up at his companions, "I didn't have any control over where I landed. She did drop me on the ship at least and not into the green sea or onto an unsuspecting citizen. So at least I only damaged the Argos a little. I mean, she could have thrown me at the Spire, like an cannonball, so it was actually quite kind of her when you think about it. It's just a little damage. I can fix it, won't take long, I promise."

He looked back down at the words and drawing and gave a huge smile, "I did get a clue concerning the Bloom and she gave me a chart,"'he tapped the side of his head, "In here. Does anyone recognize the burned tallshank that looks like a cyclone? Also, I am feeling ... " Atus raised his palms to his waist and with barely an audible sound of his heart spinning, a thick band of lightning arced between them for a moment and he grins. "re-energized."

If no one responds and they all head belowdecks, Atus will start fixing the damage.

 

[Morkskittar]

The spade-headed gau chuckled. "That must have been quite an entrance, to have fallen from a storm." He stepped past Park and made a deep bow, the tip of his fungal head brushing the plants. "My name is Shahan Farr; some call me the wandering char. I am captain of the ship moored next door. Your kind friend invited me here to consult."

He looked directly at both Atus and Tharr and gave them nods of acknowledgment. "Pleased to meet you." He turned back to Park. "I would be most honored to accompany you belowdecks and out of the rain; this is a fine ship."

Niceties taken care of, Tharr ducked back downstairs to the galley, and Park and Shahan followed. As Park led the way, the gau admired the leviathan-bone walls. "Nice seal, this bone. Good choice of material; my own vessel makes use of Exile's Copper. We're all mostly chars on board, and we like to use real fire where possible; metal's safest."

The two of them stepped into the galley, where Tharr had moved the table from under the leaking hole Atus' fall had caused and sat back down. Three steaming cups of tea awaited them, and they all sat.

"Running water in your galley. Most ingenious." The gau chuckled slightly at his own joke, and held the cup of tea up near his neck. A bunch of small fungal tendrils snaked their way out from under his collar and dipped into the tea, absorbing it. He turned to Tharr. "You make an excellent cup. Are you the crew's steep?"

He looked around. "And where is your infected friend? Unless your steep here is the one with the flower's curse?" His eyes fell on Tharr's parasitic tuber, peeking out of the sack Tharr had brought it back in. "Not that; that's much too large to be a manticore bloom spore. Similar in function, though, I suppose."

---

Up above deck, the storm lightened. To most, the change was imperceptible, but Atus immediately realized that Dajel was running out of steam. Her relentless assault on the Spire had relented, the strikes becoming less fierce. He became distracted from his task, watching her dance across the sky. He did not know how long it was before he came back to himself, and his eyes fell on the crater of splinters. It was an easy enough fix; just slap something over the hole. The problem then became determining what, exactly, to patch the hole with. More wood would, of course, match the existing deck, but perhaps something stronger was needed? After all, who was to say that Atus falling from a great height would not happen again.

OOC

Repairing the ship will require a piece of appropriate salvage and a Rattle roll. You will need to find something appropriate for patching a hole in the deck. :)

Regarding the Hakuna Matata stew (marked now on your character sheet), it will allow anyone who drinks it to immediately clear any two boxes of Mire, Mire being negative mental consequences to seeing or experiencing terrible things. Tharr and Tolliver both have one box of Mire, and you will all surely get more in the future. :) Not terribly useful now, but it may come in handy soon.

Edited Thursday at 02:28 AM by Morkskittar (see edit history)

[Dr Jackal]

Tharr shakes his head, still feeling melancholic. "A Slinger, more than else. I am a Steep as a hobby only," he says, then looks at the tuber he extracted with a reserved expression. "And apparently a Surgeon when the need arises," he adds, his tone one of sour disappointment rather than anything approaching pride or satisfaction.

He lays the 'prize' on the table. "If there is anything you know of that bears telling about this, I would hear as much of it as you would share."