Seaside

Locales abroad of the city centers, from out of doors to the outer planes.
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Shadowcaller
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Re: Seaside

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[The Coast]

"Yes. But why are you in my presence exactly? They might be wondering if perhaps not asking it out loud." People tended to be cautious to not question too much when a giant dragon was breathing down their neck.

In fact, even if this was the nexus the people here might prefer hiding inside their homes rather than being face to face with her at all.
It was still about midday so in theory most citizens should be on and about right now. However, it was also smaller town and the temperatures just above freezing so they might not find any huge crowds out there today.
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Re: Seaside

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Locura de Adan

A large brown minotaur arrives to answer the ad. Well, he's actually a normal sized minotaur but he's large in comparison to most people. He's dressed in his usual work attire of a breastplate and tough pants. He's not entirely sure who he's looking for...
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Re: Seaside

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[Locura de Adan]

It might take a little asking around, but Krayger will eventually find himself standing in front of Sally's Right Hook, a weathered-looking frigate that is currently in the process of being loaded. The ship appears to be old, but well-maintained, at least where it counts; the paint is chipped, but the boards are all firm, intact, and free of rot or barnacles. The ship's figurehead depicts a surly woman who scowls down at Krayger; were she a real person, he might get the impression she was about to haul off and hit him.

After a few moments, the minotaur is greeted by a plump man in a tricorn and naval uniform, who walks up to him with a parchment on a board and a quill. "You must be one of the mercenaries the captain hired, correct?" The man says, scribbling on his parchment. "Lovely. If you and your companions would just come on board-" He stops and looks up, noticing that Krayger seems to, in fact, be alone. "...Just you? Really? Is that all they could spare?" He asks, incredulous.
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Re: Seaside

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[The Coast]


"I could claim to be your representative. But it's not certain the people would accept it." Ambrosia does make a fair point. "I can simply claim self-interest. I serve as a dragon's spokesman to curry favor with you. People tend to be eager to believe such motives."
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Re: Seaside

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Locura de Adan

Frigate will join Krayger, the bulky bronze of his armoured cladding already slightly green from verdigris. His head, a rounded cross between a frog-mouth helm and an antique diving helmet, has a single purple light glowing within, and hanging from a swordbelt around his hips are a brass cutlass and a pair of wheellock pistols, as well as a powderhorn. He's also carrying an unusual firearm; a volleygun, resembling a musket with eight barrels all welded together. A normal person using such a weapon would dislocate or break their shoulder, though Frigate's sturdy construction of stone and bronze protect him from the perils of such brutal recoil. It is, however, a notably antique firearm by the standards of Skyside; hopefully the pirates aren't from more modren times.
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Re: Seaside

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Locura de Adan

"Nonsense. You have two." Krayger says in good spirits and indicating in Frigate's direction.
"MERC members respond to contracts as they see fit. I suppose the numbers might not have seemed big enough for the others." Krayger is banking on the 2% being 2% of a reasonably large number. If it isn't he might still walk away.
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Re: Seaside

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[Locura de Adan]

"...That's a mercenary? I was under the impression you were an artificer and brought your tools along." The man in the tricorn frowns, striking a line from his parchment. "No matter. Two guards will have to do." He gestures up to the ship. "Your quarters are with the crew, belowdecks. Hammock 48 for you, and... standing room only for the machine, I'm afraid. The fabric simply won't hold its weight." He glances back at the ramp up to the ship and frowns. "...Even that might not to the job. We'll have to haul it in with the cargo."
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Re: Seaside

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Locura de Adan

"Aye, I be a mercenary. Me creator built me a bodyguard, but I be too weighty t' save him from drowning. No worries 'bout the sleepin' arrangements- I don't sleep, so no need fer a hammock." Frigate's deep voice echoes in his helm,

When it comes time to hauling him aboard, Frigate will assist with practiced hands. He'll also sing as he goes, though otherwise won't move. "Way, haul away, we'll haul away the lowland
Way, haul away, we'll haul away Joe!
Way, haul away, the packet is a rolling
Way, haul away, we'll haul away Joe!"
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Re: Seaside

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Locura de Adan

Krayger is almost annoyed on Frigate’s behalf but the construct seems fine with it.
”No sir, not an artificer. Just an engineer.”
And a junior wizard but he isn’t used to that enough to advertise it. Beside, the magic he was taught isn’t very good at repelling pirates.
Hopefully the ramp will deal with him just fine. He might not be made of metal but a full size minotaur is still a quarter-ton.
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Re: Seaside

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[Locura de Adan]

Frigate's cheer seems to be somewhat contagious; by the time he's been loaded up alongside a bundle of water barrels, several of the crew have joined in the shanty, though it quickly breaks down into discord when it becomes clear that many of them have preferences for different versions of the song... either that, or they can't all quite agree where they are among the verses. Eventually, they shrug it off and seem to quickly come to a consensus to just go through the refrain over again until they've finished bringing him aboard.

Away (ho!) Haul away, we'll haul away together
(Away haul away, we'll haul away Joe)
Away (ho!) Haul away, we'll haul for better weather
(Away haul away, we'll haul away Joe)


"These seamen and their shanties." The tricorn-wearing man sighs, shaking his head. "Never understood it."

As Krayger feared, a five-hundred-pound minotaur does, indeed, prove to be a bit much for the comparatively flimsy plank and he himself has to be loaded in a similar fashion, alongside a pile of crates that smell vaguely like fruit; provisions, maybe, or possibly some of the cargo they were being paid to protect. Even if they were full of something relatively inexpensive, such as, say, dried figs (that's certainly what they smell like), Krayger will note that they're loading ninety tons or more of these crates on board; assuming each ton ends up selling for the usual market rate of approximately 8,000 guilders (to use the local currency), that means he and Frigate are collectively earning 160 guilders per ton, or 14,400 for the entire shipment. That's a decent month's wage, on top of their daily compensation. If the captain keeps his word, they can expect to walk away from this... not rich, but reasonably paid, especially if their services turn out to not be needed.

"Which brings us to the matter of your contract." The tricorn-wearing man segues, shortly after confirming all of this. "How much experience do you... gentlemen have with dealing with pirates, exactly?"
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Re: Seaside

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[CRAB BATTLE]

Okay so upside?

It's really nice along this stretch of coastline despite being winter. It's still warm, it just rains a bit more often. But Tristan had the good sense to check the weather to make sure all they should be encountering are a few refreshing showers. The terrain is dominated by rolling dune hills stabilized by abundant palm trees and creeping succulent mats alive with pink, purple, and yellow flowers. The occasional limestone pillar colonized by hardy, waxy looking succulents dot the landscape.

Tristan has already spotted several coconut crabs burrows and has planted little wire and ribbon flags next to each one. He is, of course, explaining the wonders of this location to Jade.

"-because normally coconut crabs won't survive contact with ants. But THESE ones have a really interesting adaptive advantage. They munch on the local limestone and use that to produce a waxy, basic coating that neutralizes ant acid. That way they don't desiccate when they encounter ant swarms unlike their island relatives," Tristan rambles as he tromps through the succulent fields. "So we're here for the coconut crabs because the terrain here has set up a perfect natural laboratory; two rivers cut across this part of the coast. The northern third has been colonized by mudcrabs expanding their range while the southern section has dwebbles that I SUSPECT are interbreeding with the coconut crabs. The area between the rivers, however, is only populated by the coconut crabs. So we're going to be doing some population surveys and behavioral observations to see how the coconut crabs are adapting to the encroachment of other macro crustaceans into their territory."

It is extremely obvious that Tristan is extremely excited about this. He recently got his PhD on the subject of shell competition between different species of hermit crabs and this is the first post PhD study he's involved in! Very exciting stuff.

It's a very different sort of science than Jade's preference. Less engineering in the lab and way more walking around outside getting rained on.
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Re: Seaside

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Crab Battle
Jade nods. "So we have regular crabs here, mud crabs over there, and rock crabs over there?" She's wearing a thick raincoat - she doesn't like getting wet. She also isn't nearly as into crabs as Tristan, but she's here because she's being a supportive girlfriend. "Interbreeding? Aren't dwebbles more like hermit crabs? You'd think they'd be too different to breed." Jade isn't familiar with Pokemon.
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Re: Seaside

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[CRAB BATTLE]

"Actually coconut crabs AREN'T true crabs! They're the largest hermit crab species. Their juveniles actually still use shells until they mature, at which point the rest of their shell hardens," Tristan says, quite happy to impart this vitally important knowledge. "They're basically hermit crabs that have gotten so big that they don't have any use for snail shells anymore."

And BIG is definitely accurate. There's one of them climbing a (not coconut) tree nearby to get after some fruit. The thing has a three foot wide leg-span! Aside from things like crazy giant radioactive bugs it's the largest arthropod Jade will ever see.

Well. The largest REAL arthropod Jade will ever see. As opposed to weird fantastical ones.

"The mudcrabs are true crabs, though. Just highly unusual ones. Possibly magical? The world they came from originally is a pretty magical place so it's possible. They don't have lungs like the coconut crabs do, so they' won't stray too far from bodies of water. And the dwebbles are... well. Pokemon are weird."


That's an understatement.

"In places where pokemon are invasive they'll sometimes end up breeding with the native animal population, provided the animals are reasonably similar. Sometimes it results in more of the same pokemon. Sometimes in completely new varieties. The hybrids often end up competing the mundane animals on account of pokemon being absurd magical monsters," Tristan says as he crests a dune and-!

Oh!

"Great the map was mostly accurate," he says, grinning down at a large dune pond below. The ground nearby is covered in a thick layer of moss and lichen, as well odd looking fungal pods. Near the edge of the pool are a number of very suspicious looking 'rocks' of various sizes ranging from football to beach-ball. "We're going to need to take a mudcrab from the pool here, and a few others nearby as well. I want to check their stomach contents to see if they've been preying on the coconut crabs. I should probably mention again that mudcrabs are highly aggressive."

But not particularly fast.

A leisurely walk is sufficient to escape their wrath.
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Re: Seaside

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Crab Battle
"I see." Jade snaps a photo of the climbing crab. Her camera is some sort of high-tech customized design. She (or Jason) probably created it herself in order to take photos of crime scenes or something. The twins are always tinkering. "Right. So... Any suggestions on not getting pinched?" Those are some big crabs. Big enough to seriously injure someone with those claws of theirs (if the rocks are the camouflaged crabs and not something else).
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Re: Seaside

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Morty wrote: Dec 20, 2022 3:43 pm [The Coast]

"I could claim to be your representative. But it's not certain the people would accept it." Ambrosia does make a fair point. "I can simply claim self-interest. I serve as a dragon's spokesman to curry favor with you. People tend to be eager to believe such motives."
[The Coast]

The dragon tilts her head thoughtfully. "My herald perhaps? That would make sense. I did hear that the people of this particular town came to practice a kind of dragon-worship to appease the former occupant of this lair. Not sure if that's practiced anymore but it might mean they would hold me in favor. Or fear me even more." Something akin to a smile forms as the dragon suddenly bares her teeth into a grin.
"Perhaps it's even best if you go alone and I can simply follow you in spirit." Whatever that means. Of course, he might have a pretty good idea depending on how dragons work where he's from.
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Re: Seaside

Post by Earl of Purple »

Locura de Adan

"Much an' more. I were built t'be a bodyguard fer a wizard what went t' sea." To avoid paying gambling debts. "That were eight years ago. Since, I be servin' aboard six ships an' involved in many nautical clashes w' pirates, sea beasts an' inclement weather. One o' them were a privateer vessel, an' one were pirate 'unters. Not me choice t' join the privateers; I'd walked ashore after a storm sank me previous vessel an' they rescued I from a desert island two months later. I joined cos I were bored an' wanted off th' island. I left the privateers after the ship got caught in port by th' Imperial Navy an' sentenced t' death by rope. The gallows weren't strong enough, so I were imprisoned till th' sea called me an' I left." It was a wooden structure, too close to the sea. It was rotting before Frigate walked through the wall. "Joined the pirate 'unters next as they were first t' leave port, an' the gov'ner might not have been so happy as me new cap'n t' see me go." Frigate never revisited that port, so he's got no way to know.

Frigate doesn't mention that of those six ships, he knows five sank for certain and doesn't know the fate of the last- just that it had been dismasted in a naval battle, as the mast's fall knocked him overboard.
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Re: Seaside

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[CRAB BATTLE]

The crab climbing the tree is pretty photogenic! It doesn't pose for Jade or anything, but it IS a relatively colorful animal. Jade has probably noticed that the coconut crabs come in a variety of colors. Well, they're mostly grey-brown but they have different colored highlights. Still neat! If you don't mind giant shell-less hermit crabs.

"Honestly we could just grab one of the mudcrabs from behind and smack it's face on a rock," Tristan says, eyeing the gathering of invasive crustaceans. "They're pretty durable animals, but they're so bulky they can't really defend themselves from behind. That would rile the rest of the crabs and they'll keep following us until they lose our scent or start drying out. They need to keep their gills wet to breath."

Sounds like they have a plan!

Then, rather abruptly, Tristan laughs.

"Oh, hehe, you know we could probably just waiting around for a few minutes. As far as any passing adventurer knows we're just a couple random weirdos out in the middle of nowhere who need some help killing some large, aggressive, invasive wildlife in several very specific locations," he points out. "Doesn't that sound like a poorly designed fetch quest to you?"
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Re: Seaside

Post by Earl of Purple »

CRAB BATTLE

Oh, hey! Here's an adventurer looking for a poorly-designed fetch quest. Well... they seem to be an adventurer, anyway. They're a khajiit wearing a heavy chitin cuirass, boots and gauntlets but no helmet, with a brutal-looking orichalcum-forged mace at her waist and a shield slung over her back. She's not wearing a helmet, her tawny fur and green cat-like eyes clearly visible.
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Re: Seaside

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CRAB BATTLE
"There's no way someone will show up in the middle of nowhere just because we happen to need a few giant crabs killed," Jade says. She's facing away from the new arrival.
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Re: Seaside

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[CRAB BATTLE]

Tristan's response to Jade's declaration is a pretty great 'well there it is' expression while gesturing toward the adventurer that just crested a nearby hill.

"Hey there!" Tristan calls out, waving one arm above his head at the approaching cat-person. "Hey, you got here just in time, we could really use some help."

Tristan is trying his best and mostly succeeding not to smile like a complete idiot. This situation is deeply hilarious in his opinion. He's getting the opportunity to be a quest giving NPC! What's not to love?

"There are way too many of these invasive mudcrabs wreaking havoc on the local wildlife population. If you can lend me a hand with them I can make it worth your while," Tristan says.

How would he make it worth the while of random adventurer?

He's really got no idea since he's kind of making this up as he goes.
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Re: Seaside

Post by Morty »

[The Coast]

"Perhaps we can arrive at a solution that doesn't involve religious worship... we shall see." Askeladd turns into a seal again and jumps down the tunnel that leads outside. There he will swim to the shore.
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Re: Seaside

Post by Earl of Purple »

CRAB BATTLE

"This one will help you. Do you know where to find the Tomb of A Thousand Curses? This one's sister was seeking it a week ago, and this one hasn't seen her since." If not, actual payment will still be useful. After this long, if the khajiit's sister is still alive then chances are she's somewhere safe or hasn't found it yet. If she's dead, then the delay also won't hurt.
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Re: Seaside

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[The Coast]

"We shall see. But we can always hope..." The dragon muses before he turns to leave the cave. Of course, he has to climb out of it but once he's done that he can turn into a seal and swim away towards the town.

Yet he soon hears Megeshi's voice again though this time seemingly projected directly into his mind. The dragon no where to be seen. Well, to someone who can't see spirits at least.
Can't you turn into a bird? Since I think that would make this journey faster.
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Re: Seaside

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CRAB BATTLE
Jade shrugs and pulls out her phone. "Nah, but I can look it up. Let's see here... T-o-m-b..." It would probably be better negotiating technique to wait until after the mudcrabs are killed. But the khajit did already agree to help.
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Re: Seaside

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[The Coast]

"I prefer to swim than fly," Askeladd replies. "And the weather seems more suited for it."

His seal form will swim up to the shore and emerge, where he will turn back into a human.
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Re: Seaside

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[The Coast]

The rain and wind has eased up a bit since he flew into the cave but he's still right. It's not ideal weather for flying.
Perhaps. I do seem to cause this sort of weather wherever I go. The dragon muses as he swims but then remains silent even as he makes landfall.

The village is close enough at this point that he can see that there aren't many people out and about. The awful weather keeping them inside and perhaps the dragon that just flew by as well? There are no signs of any panicking villagers at a first glance however.
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Re: Seaside

Post by Rebonack »

[CRAB BATTLE]

Digital maps are definitely more practical than physical ones.

Especially in a place like the Nexus.

How are you supposed to know if it's accurate if it isn't updating constantly What if it changes? That seems like a pretty great way to get lost, after all.

And look at that!

A hit!

The Tomb of a Thousand Curses (not to be confused with the Tomb of Ten Thousand Curses) is about twelve miles south south-east on a little barren island that's actually the fossilized skull of a dead god. Pretty great place to build a cursed tomb, right?

Anywho!

Tristan's response here is, "Great! If you've got a map I can mark the locations. I only need ONE mudcrab killed at each spot. And if you can bring the corpses back that would be great. I need to check their stomach contents to learn what they've been eating. If you decide to kill more than one crab at each spot that won't hurt my feelings any, but it's up to you how much crab slaying you feel like doing."

Does Tristan also have a level appropriate sack of gold coins?

Uuuh...

Nooooo...?

But he has the uncanny feeling that by the time the cat-person gets back he'll probably have found one.
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Re: Seaside

Post by Earl of Purple »

CRAB BATTLE!

The khajiit pulls out a map, though it seems like a blank piece of silk, and will try to hold it over the phone displaying the map. Absolutely nothing appears to happen unless Jade or Tristan can sense magic, though the catlady adventurer nods and folds it up and puts it back into a pocket. "I will aid you in this. Which locations did you have in mind?"
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Re: Seaside

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[The Coast]

Askeladd walks towards the village with purpose, wrapped in his green cloak. He makes no outward displays of supernatural power, but there's a presence to him, a gravitas. He waits to be noticed before speaking.
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Re: Seaside

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CRAB BATTLE
Jade holds out her phone for the adventurer to copy the location of the tomb. She's not sure what just happened, but she steps aside to let Tristan add the locations of the mudcrabs. "Good luck." Honestly the khajit doesn't look like she needs luck. She seems capable enough to bring down a few mudcrabs.
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