The party is gathered at the railing of the ship as Big Bang (sitting on Drew’s head) finishes relating the story. After some rapid coordination, it becomes clear that the group should follow the ship when it leaves to locate the real base. Shiro is pacing up and down. “But we can’t stay close enough to follow them and remain unseen... If only we had some kind of tracking device...” Archie makes an overly loud stage cough. Everyone turns to him. “Well, it just so happens that my mother is particularly talented at that kind of spell, always comes in handy when an employer doesn’t pay and tries to skip out on you.” All eyes turn to Big Bang.... “Can you smuggle something onto that ship?” Big Bang, pausing from chewing on a metal bar, like a silver carrot, swallows and replies “Do rabbits shit in the woods?” No one actually knows the answer, but assumes he means yes.
Bang takes the goods his crew desires to stow away the enemy vessel. As invisible as a shadow bang creeps through the ship, sliding past guards and hiding under tables. At one point he hides on top of a guard's head, hiding in their long tangled mat of hair. Finally he see's the location of drop off, and unloads the goods. Finally, in a call for good measure bang scribbles a dickbutt into a side corner of the hull and jumps back to the ship
Whilst Ohmen drags his eyes away from the now distant Scro station, Wisdom remains on the railings, the bird staring at it with sheer intent. Independent, Ohmen first looks to Big Bang and then the others, passing the scroll back to Archie before taking a step back and approaching the stellar view pool. The grip on his staff tightens. A mumble later Ohmen closes his eyes. With deep breaths and total concentration, he pushes away the thoughts which claw at his mind, focusing on, and only on the stashed stone. It is him, He is it, it is all. Envisioning it in his palm, in front of him, he can almost feel its surface, able to trace along its every intricacy and highlight every fracture or spot. With a voice clear and a twisting tongue, He speaks, the words following first in subtle fashion before twisting and echoing with his skyward gaze. “Mot Wma wyycw. Smidd OULV! Latizual Kytapy Clasl za XE!” - 'He Who seeks Shall FIND. Location become known to me!' - Casts, Locate Object on the stashed stone.
Shiro stood his turn at watch, waiting for the Scro vessel to leave and lead them into the belly of the beast. Having divided the crew into watches, he had withdrawn to his cabin and prepared his mind for the upcoming conflict. All his potent spells were ready and he itched to bring justice to this foe. Shiro's hand clenched and unclenched almost unconsciously as he watched the far off asteroid, waiting for a sign of the ships departure.
It takes several patient hours of waiting, but the scro ship does eventually take off from the asteroid base. For a week, you follow it at a distance, striving to keep just close enough for the spell to work, but far enough away that they cannot detect you. This is made easier when you discover that the gnome has a spyglass. "Yes, I suppose you can borrow it, but I will need it back," he mutters in a sulky tone. "I ground the lenses for that myself, and it is a lot of work!" But the ship's destination is a little surprising, as it flies right back to Tayrik! Not, however, to a section of Tayrik you are familiar with. As mentioned earlier, Tayrik is an enormous planet! {Comparison-wise, you could fit several Earths inside of it}. So when the scro land their ship on a remote island in the middle of the ocean, you suspect you have found what you are looking for...
Hovering up at cloud-level to keep from being seen, you use Archie's spyglass to scout out the island below. It is a surprisingly large island, but somewhat sparsely inhabited from the looks of it. If you had to hazard a guess, it is five miles wide, and perhaps eight long, running Northeast to Southwest. Most of the Southeast coast is at or just above sea level, but it rises to a good thousand feet above that in the extreme Northeast corner... ...and that is where the scro have their lair. Along the beach you see a scattering of buildings, assembled atop the ruins of another settlement. Stone walls are topped with thatch roofs or crude wooden walls, and someone has taken the time to assemble warehouses, a drydock, several clearings for landing ships, and so forth. There is a stone breakwater, but it is in obvious disrepair. Likewise, there are docks for sea-going or water-landing vessels, but only one appears to be usable. Most of the village seems to be populated by goblins, but orcs, scro, and some hobgoblins are present as well. You are a little curious as to what culture built the original settlement. The island is at the end of a long archipelago chain, but you haven't seen any ships or other vessels of any kind. You don't even know if the culture that built the place is still around! As for the scro at the high end of the island, they appear to have taken over a ruined fortress of some kind. They have repaired a few small sections - the barracks, training grounds, a meeting hall, and the blacksmith - but much of the fortress is still a ruined shell. Six towers (three repaired, three still ruined), a curtain wall (again, ruined in several parts). The scro have repaired the structures along the intact Northeast wall of the fortress, between two of the three intact towers. You are beginning to think whatever drove away the original inhabitants of this settlement was not peaceful...
Looking over the rest of the island, it is fairly straightforward. Beyond the settlement, the island - like most others in the archipelago - is covered in trees. It is hard to tell from here, but you're pretty sure some of those trees are growing in what used to be cleared fields. Can't tell what kind of trees from this distance, mind you. At the higher end of the island, the terrain is more rocky, but even then the trees have taken over, running from just past the settlement all the way to the fortress. A half-wrecked road, paved with... well, you're not sure, to be honest, runs from the settlement to the fortress...
An rightfully placed apprehension in his chest, a seriousness in his eyes, Ohmen waits as the ship descends to cloud level before peering through the veil of fog... to see An island.. An archipelago of islands, each one a bond, a link in the chain… This was it. The terrain is the first thing to become visible, both him and Wisdom. and as it does the Raven who now grips onto the railings with both claws sits motionlessly for a few seconds, as if it were retreating into its own mind.. And then, rather suddenly Wisdom reopens her eyes. Knowledge rekindled, flowing once more, enlightened if you will... Eyes almost immediately set upon the Island's shape, Wisdom follows it, tracing its intricacies and terrain as if reading a page written upon this sheet of blue. “A scatter of tree’s of much I know. Where rocky outcrops rise in defiance of the ocean an island carves out its name. its histories in an endless expanse of blue. Before us are the Scro's buildings... built upon the ruins, desecrating the shell of another settlement, culture and people.. Fitting such as it is, the work of others absorbed into their entirety." "Do you not feel that weight in the air?" --- Chucking himself away from the railings, Ohmen’s black cloak glints in the strange cloud filtered light, its shifting fabric flowing on a nonexistent breeze as he moves to the central table, calling those who weren’t already at its side. Staying standing Ohmen looks to each and all. Speaking, a clear and visible intent in his tone. “This is our chance. Our opportunity now to watch and wait, to discern as much information as possible from this vantage point. So lets discuss and confer of actions to be taken.” Obvious or not, there was much to be discussed about how they would go about this... It is at that moment however, as Ohmen breathes in ready to continue, Wisdom speaks, word slightly echoing as if at a distance, yet no less sharp.. the Raven paints a picture in the mind. “Too come the morning misst, the darknesss of twilight. Concealed by the dusk of darkness is a chance true” Nodding to Wisdom, Ohmen looks toward the mercenaries with a molten glare. “Archie. Vinnie. What sort of distractions do you have, Flares, Smoke.. If any… All the better if they are on a timer…” “To slit through a morning mist, Draw the view. Keep the mind” “Then, then we can make our move. The further, the brighter the better. Then we can land in one of the least inhabited regions. Using the terrain and geography to cover our descent.” Gently the Wizard leans in, Placing a stick of Sandel wood incense toward the middle of the table, now lighting it with a pass of his hand, a motion which flows into an open gesture towards the rest of the group. Taking a deep breath and letting the warm, reliving scent wash over him, Ohmen continues. “Thoughts?”
Drew perks up when Ohmen mentions stealthy information gathering. "Um, being a rogue, that is kind of my shtick. But i also know that BigBang here," he points to the top of his head, where the rabbit man sat comfortably. "is also a rogue, and because of his size, he might be better suited for the job, but if you all agree, we could both go down and look at the Scro camp from different directions, we could stick together, or only one of us could go. What do you guys think? and of course, Bigbang, i say all this assuming you want to go."
Shiro speaks up. He has been sitting in the corner, honing his Katana with a whetstone. The action is borderline pointless, since the magical blade needs no honing and only serves to gradually whittle down the stone to nothing... He finds it relaxing though. "I can cast a spell repeatedly that will cause... attention to be drawn to the spot. I will need to be within 60m to cast it, but it will assuredly bring attention." [0 level spell: Flare]
Looking over to Drew with a gentle gaze, Ohmen speaks to the pair of them and all others. “Once things are set into motion, a first foot on the soil, on the earth. Then those who deal in stealth, In shadows should sure act before I do..” “And too with that knowledge of what to expect, I can then set forth to further what needs to be done.” Wisdom too stares at the pair, the raven’s gaze is however harsh and unmoving.. Yet somehow soft. “Robed in knowledge, and clad in deception. revelation in the eyes. “ --- Turning to Shiro’s voice, the slightly soothing noise of whetstone against metal ceasing, Ohmen leans back. “No doubt it will… Perhaps we can fire up the stellar view pool and increase its range, the further and more remote the better..”
Drakk emerges from his quarters as the ship patrols the sky. With his staff in hand he looks over the rail to the archipelago below. He looks to the crew before saying "The reason I have been so absent lately is I have found a way to inscribe spells on small marbles like these. (he holds up a glass bead about the size of his thumb). With these, I can contact a.... Ummmmm.... Relative? Of mine who can give us some answers. I'm not exactly sure who or what he is, but he is how I get my powers of Divination and my affinity towards the heavens. I hope these beads can be of use to us as I can ask a question and get a yes or no answer with them. Do we have a game plan yet?"
Shiro speaks up. “My friend, before we can finalise a plan we need information. It is the true weapon of war. We need darkness or foul weather to cover us landing and then those of us trained in Stealth will survey the island and hen we can plan our attack.” Shiro addresses the rest of the crew. “It is important that we do not delay, every moment we wait increases the chances of our discovery and losing the vital advantage of surprise. We need to rest now so we can be up in the early hours of the morning, if it isn’t dark enough we should cover or smo5er all lifts and then land the ship on the island.”
"So long as we stay up here, out of sight, out of view and mind. We need not press for action. But once we decide to set things into motion, that is when we must spare no delay. If there is no mist, we can wait, if there is no darkness, we can wait. To have both even better. Patience, and knowledge our blades." “Inaccuracy, Hesitation, Rust upon them. And Know, Even steel shall shatter in the cold. “
Time passes. You have to shift position periodically to stay with the cloud cover, and there is a time around mid-day when you have to hide the ship several islands away in order to remain unseen as the clouds burn off from the light. So far, you have learned the following: 1: Trees include: pine, oak, water-oak, ash, walnut, birch, and some you have never seen before. 2: The water here is... not warm. It isn't cold, but it is not warm, either. You could swim in it, but it wouldn't be comfortable. 3: Speaking of the water and swimming, you're pretty sure some of those fish aren't friendly. During your time hiding on an island several areas away, you noticed something akin to a shark in the water (salt, btw), several things with big teeth, several normal-ish fish, and something kind of eel-like that has big teeth. Oh, and unusual turtles. LOTS of turtles. And seaweed. The turtles like the shallows between the islands, the fish mostly stick to deeper water. 4: But the interesting thing - the really interesting thing, happened at low tide. It turns out that the reason the turtles like the shallows has to do with what happens when the tide goes out. There are sandbar ridges - some rocky, some not - that run between some of the islands! You can, if you are careful, walk to the scro's island from the nearest one over!
At the pinnacle of darkness, nightfall long past, yet sun still waiting to rise the ship’s atmosphere is heavier than ever for what would soon come to pass... With a deep breath, Ohmen pushes away from the central table, parting away the smoke of yet another incense stick as he paces toward the helm room, the scent coiling around him helping to ease the atmosphere of apprehension approaching where others now similarly gather. addressing them with a gesture, he speaks “It is now, Their Ignorance our Cloak, Concealed by the dusk of darkness we slit through the morning mist to land on the furthest, best obscured point of this island before us… then with hope, with haste take advantage of low tides offering...” Likewise, Wisdom chirps in, this time only with a sentence, their voice becoming more heard during these last hours as the Raven wills to share as much knowledge as they can before the situation truly begins. “T-the tide’s retreat, Our charge.” Looking over the group one last time, Ohmen continues. “I hope we are all well rested and ready.. And I'm sure, Archie, Vinnie, that you have all your equipment, and in turn we have our spells readied.” And now, as talk between the others fills the void left by his words, Ohmen turns to Shiro.. At first, he can tell Ohmen’s voice is somewhat distant from him... “Steel yourself Shiro, for when we will inevitably have to face combat. Awash in sweat and blood, of both own and other, Hot breaths and a racing heart." But it is now, He see's as the changeling well, he isn't looking at him, but rather, through him. the slight echo in his voice blooming into a twisted, ancient tongue. Each syllable sounding like metal against metal, each word sounding as if it had travelled through a twisted maze before arriving.. Would it even be right to say he was talking to Shiro? “Da haf wyy uz?" "spydd uz ul zmy iur? "hyir uz ul yitm kyizulq myirz?" "iz uw waal hafr tmilty. va laz siwzy uz! haf vory zrieeyv iw pftm iw mot uw.” ("Do you see it?" "Smell it in the air? "Hear it in each beating heart?" "It is soon your chance. Do not waste it! You are trapped as much as he is.")
Landing the ship in cover of darkness isn't too hard. You find a small clearing, big enough for your ship, and set down on the island. Looks like this used to be someone's house or something at one point, given the stone ruins surrounding the space. Sneaking through the forest is easy, and while there is some quicksand on the sandbars, with Bigbang leading the way you manage to sneak across to the island the scro are using as a base without being seen. At the moment, you are hiding in the forest about midway between the docks and the fortress. You do see some signs that the goblins, orcs, and such venture into the forest, so you'll have to keep an eye out for anyone heading your way. Judging by axe-marks on some of the trees, you think they've been harvesting wood to repair their ships. The fog is still fairly thick at the moment, but the sun is coming up by the time you're in position among the trees...
Bang tells the rest of the group to wait up, he slips past them to examine the docks. The rodent is more silent then a cold winter day, not even his small breaths are audible. Bang is a shadow in the night creeping where he desires, and examining what he so chooses. He pauses behind a crate and waits for a minute to try and gleam some useful information from the loudmouthed and bumbling scro.
You find that most of the buildings, while crude by civilized comparison, are sturdier than you expected. There is, however, an issue. While you can understand Orcish, you discover two things. First, goblins and hobgoblins don't speak orcish when the orcs and scro aren't around. You don't know what language they ARE speaking, but it isn't orcish, elvish, draconic, or any other language you know. Likewise, while the scro speak orcish around the goblins and such, when they are alone they speak an odd pidgin language that you can only understand about half of. On the plus side though, they're pretty easy for a foot-and-a-half tall bunny to avoid. Slipping past them to the docks, you start scouting around. There is one ship at the sea-docks right now. Looks like some kind of sailing ship. It has a wooden hull, and doesn't look to be in good shape. At the moment, the crew are attaching hawsers to the aft of the ship at various points. You do not know why. That leaves the land-docks in a field about half a mile from the other docks. At the moment, there are seven ships docked here! Three are scorpion-class hulls, one looks like a gigantic, rusty preying mantis, and two are wasp-class hulls. That last one, however, worries you profusely. It isn't technically landed at the moment, being supported by a variety of struts and wooden supports. You're pretty sure it is in some kind of drydock, or a makeshift landing brace of some kind. You're not really sure. It looks like some kind of trussed pig with huge boar-tusks to either side of the pig's head... and enough weaponry to take out a castle. A hundred and fifty feet long, fifty feet wide, with fifteen different heavy weapons mounted atop it! A more in-depth look into this vessel tells you that it is still in the process of being built, which is something of a relief. As the sun rises into the sky, you can watch the goblin and orc ship-builders start their tasks for the day, under the direction of the master shipwright... ...a dark-scaled, star-speckled, seven-foot-tall half dragon, who bears a striking resemblance to Drakk!!!