HT Alias/Player Character Name Type Status/Notes Sex -- ----------------------------------------------------------------- R1.John Haight...........Arawn.............Druid .Normal/Alfar Ma ??.Chris Wells...........Ben'dar...........Warrior.Normal/Human Ma R4.Tom Corckett..........Caladan...........Wizard Normal/Human Ma W2.Marcel Liberty........Chion.............Sailor..Normal/Human Ma W3.Ryan Torres...........Farseeker.........Warrior.Normal/Human Ma --.Tobie Bonahoom........Fremea............Sidh....Normal/Faerry Fe R2.Mark Murtha...........Kell..............Trader..Normal/Human..Ma Do.David Sanders.........Kiet.Sunan........Acrobat Normal/Human Ma R4.J H Hooten............Raban.Usherwood...Bard....Normal/Human..Ma W2.Robert Maxwell........Strie'bog.........Bard....Normal/Human..Ma R1 NPC...................Shu.Yeoh..........Wizard..Normal/Human..Fe W4.Wout Broere...........Unali.............Ninja...Normal/Human Fe Do John.Stowman..........Will..............Hunter..Normal/Human..Ma R4.Alex Koponen..........Z'leyra...........Healer..Normal/Human Fe R1 NPC...................Zhou Kiwat........Noble...Normal/Human..Ma Animals: Corona [Eagle] Z'leyra, Tef'wo (Horse) Ben'dar, 2 Donkeys Cover Story Info: Caladan aka Ca Lu as Guard/Archer Farseeker aka Fu Sa as Guard Fremea as Noble child [Disguised] Kell aka Swan as Trader Unali as Zhou's wife Game Web Site - http://www.funport.com/longshot/pbem Public posts/actions to pnpgm@abroere.xs4all.nl (mailing list) Private emails (not public actions) to longshot@darktech.org Game Update #17 in sequence (file #202) ---------------------------------------------------------------- Admin Notes: None. ----------------------------------------------------------------- [Recap] From Kiet: [Re: Dragon Miracle] If it works...awesome...if not, then I can at least console myself with the thought that I saved a donkey's life.... GM: Ack. :) Good plan though. ----------------------------------------------------------------- [New Stuff] [Apris 15th, 1634TH] [Location: High Elder's Citadel, after meeting with High Elder] Z'leyra buys from the market cheap damaged weapons for practice of skills on board the ship. Including two great swords, two hand axes and two war staves. Soon after the meeting, Z'leyra hears Raban making an open offer for folks to scan him for magic. "Okay if I cast some basic detection spells?" Raban nods and Z'leyra begins the process. She first eners her shamanic trance with her drum. Then casts a detection spell with her staff. While in the trance she reports the same things that Arawn and Fremea previously reported. Soon she casts another spell. It takes almost 30 seconds for her to watch Raban. At one point she looks away and Raban notices a slight blush on her face. Z'leyra later welcomes both Shu Yeoh and Zhou Kiwat to the group. ---------------------- [Apris 17th, 1634TH] [Location: Eastern Shadow Domain, Port for ship] Z'leyra thanks thanks those like Kiet that repay her advance of funds for ship fees. Z'leyra also mentions to Arawn that she does know Time Powers, but not sure when she will have time to teach them. Also, that the Time Travel spell requires FAR more care than most spells in deciding if and how to cast. ---------------------- [Apris 19th, 1634TH] [Location: Eastern Ocean, Sailing to Katai] Z'leyra shares her complete Foyson biscuit material during the trip for anyone who wishes to eat it. It is plenty of food for 20 days for a normal man. Arawn and Fremea has seen these type of things in the Sidh Hill back at the Vassa forest. ---------------------- [Ma 3rd, 1634TH] [Location: Eastern Ocean, Heading S/SE, 490 miles south of DL] [Weather: Patchy Clouds, Temperatures 70-80s as highs.] [Wind: Low speed] [Time: 1:43:30 pm] to [Time: 1:43:45 pm] In the next 15 seconds, Kiet flies fast toward the dragon going at 20 feet per second and the dragon about same give or take a foot. Meanwhile the dragon in the rear continues to lose ground as the ship's new speed, thanks to Chion, continues to widen the distance between each. At best the rear dragon is a good 2,300 feet behind the ship and the one in the forward is around 850 feet. When Kiet left the ship it was actually closer at around 700 feet. But the Captain and first mate saw their chance to act. They changed course yet again to widen their own distance from that dragon. They had seen the dragon clearly changed course for its free food coming to it. So another 150 feet was made away from the two. As Kiet nears the dragon more detail is seen. Those looking on deck with spyglasses like Unali, Fremea or sailors will see the same detail. The black wet skin is full of thick plate scales that look like it should be land based than water based. There is a lighter black color to the dragon's under neck and under belly that is only seen briefly at times. Kiet sees their wings like their cousins that fly are gone and replaced by large fins like that of the whale. But these jut out the side about 8 or so feet and could probably bat most people in the water easily. A long sleek tail, almost leftover from their cousins, trails behind. Kiet isn't clear if it is used for navigation, as a weapon or a useless limb at this point. It seems to wag and move in random directions. Kiet figures it must be the easiest part to cut off in a fight if one dared to get that close. The dark black as coal tapered body is slick and long at about 24 feet. It is hard to tell how tall it is or how much it might weigh since most of it is in the water. In the water deep it must be a nightmare to track in dark water. No gills are seen but Kiet figures they surface for air when needed but the stories tell they do not breath fire. Land dragons are said to breath fire due to sacs of mysterious things and air that allows them to do this. While others believe they eat certain materials that work like flint and steel to mix the flames. If these are left over from their land cousins it must be the sacs here allow them to breath long periods of time in the water making them able to drag their prey, in this case Kiet, down deep. Kiet plans to stay well out of reach. Kiet figures it could be as heavy as most dragons but shorter since water grows length more than height. He figures it to be 5-6 feet at the shoulder. The shoulder to neck is another 3 feet making it possible to lean over most ships to do their havoc work. So it probably stands 7-8 feet by his guess. The dragon's ears are drawn back prepared for battle or a quick snack before it takes more snacks on the ship. The jaw is as huge Fremea is. Fremea could probably be swallowed whole with little effort. A man due to his length might take two bites. Raban likely three, the lucky guy might be able to get a swing out of it before fully eaten - the lucky guy Kiet thinks to himself. The teeth make the frightened shark's teeth look like human baby teeth. They are long 3-4 inches in some places and large canine like fangs are almost twice that. They look sharp as any sword and as numerous as a hundred daggers in one mouth. Kiet notices his nostrils flare with anger and loathing. Then Kiet notices the eyes as large as a Giant's eyes but about twice the size of a human eye. They gleam in the sun shining down from almost straight up at Kiet's back down into the Dragon's eyes. Kiet realizes this gives him a slight advantage as he is coming from the brighter side of this fight. But the ship would have no such advantage as the sun would not be a factor. Kiet stares at the eyes full of anger as well showing more emotion, and Kiet fears yet respects, intelligence. Kiet swears he sees some faint red in the creature's eyes but it could be the sun or his own eyes playing tricks. Kiet quickly says as he flies near a prayer for success. It is one thing to act brave in front of the others but this thing is a dangerous foe even for someone like Raban or Farseeker or Ben'dar to handle in personal combat. One word spoken wrong could mean disaster. This dragon will have its jaws and teeth as its main weapon and no magic - Kiet hopes the stories are true on that regard. The fins will be useless unless someone gets in the water. After 15 seconds of flight Kiet gets within just 40 feet of the dragon. With him going fast and the dragon coming to meet him it is a quick 700 or so feet jump. Kiet does one more glance to his right to spot the ship and doesn't see it. Curious he almost loses concentration and tilts a bit. Where is the ship? Then he glances left and scans the water. There it is but it has well passed him and the dragon. If it continues on he realizes he might not be able to catch up with it. Kiet forgo to plan for that part. Even if he talks for a minute or two. How far would that be? It looks about 900 feet away now from Kiet. It could be well over 1000 feet away. He realizes he could be left behind unless someone realizes he is left behind and the ship circles or comes to get him. Would the captain risk his ship to come back for him even if the talk goes well? Kiet frowns and realizes no. He would not risk it, heck Kiet would not with all the people on board and the high risk. Kiet will have to resolve that later or swim really long to Katai. He will have to figure out possible magic to resolve this new problem later. He turns back to face the dragon now only 40 feet away. -------------- [Time: 1:43:45 pm] to [Time: 1:44:22 pm] As Kiet finishes the distance he begins to speak in Lemasan loud enough for the dragon to hear him. He speaks fast and with great dignity, yet clear tension is heard in his voice. It takes almost 40 seconds to complete his speech. As he gets to the Dragon he circles it at a height of 15 feet up and in a 10 foot diameter. He has to circle around the Dragon in a dizzying pace to maintain the spell going. At the closest approach the Dragon roars and Kiet can feel the hot and quite rank odor of the Dragon's mouth. Kiet feels bile form in his stomach but maintains his stance and speech hoping he isn't turning green as he speaks. The roar itself shakes Kiet to the very base of his skull and backbone. As if his entire body repels it and wants to flee on its own. The dragon stops moving and floats in the water watching the crazed meat source fly about him like some seagull. If only he came a bit closer! He growls and flaps his fins in frustration and water splashes in every direction. Kiet realizes if he gets a lucky jump he might reach him but if he goes higher his speech might show some doubt for the dragon. At this distance no one can hear what Kiet says or offers. Simply the distance involved, the language and the winds blowing are too distracting. Those on board wonders first why this crazed acrobat is even out there offering something for the Dragon. Second they wonder if he has some love for the Chaos mages and wonders if he has some leaning toward that alignment as well? Maybe a closer look at this person who seemed to "join" the group by luck just weeks ago. Was that fate or something else? Third they wonder what the offer is and if it will be a loss to them. Chion looks back with Caladan. Now both can see the dragon that was in the front now behind the ship to the west. It is clear the ship has over passed it. They look at each other and see Kiet. They heard something about his plan but with the wind didn't get all the words. Now the fool is out there flying around it. One takes out a flying creature on the flying island and now he thinks himself a dragon killer! chion shakes his head and moves back to the other dragon. Now it is little over 2,000 feet away. By now the first chunks of meat has reached his general area and it's clear to Chion the magically created meat seems to be distracting it. But some of the meat is gone likely have sunken a bit. If only he could've done feathers they might've floated more. Those at the forward part of the ship with bows move now to the west starboard side. They watch as Kiet seems to have started his strange talk with the Dragon. Then they realize Kiet is being left behind and hope he can teleport back. All those on board know their bows are almost 3 times out of normal range. They lower them and wait for Kiet's sign. Kell considers a few actions but then realizes it could foul up Kiet's plan. Ben'dar did warn to give the man a chance. Will in the rear considers his own plans but realizes quickly the one in the rear is too far to even catch up if the ship went at half speed. He gives up and heads toward the others and prepares his bow. Like the others he will fire if things go bad. Arawn had considered coming out with him flying along with Kiet to the dragon. But it was clear Kiet did not want help. Of course more distractions to the dragon might ruin some of Kiet's own plans. Arawn prepares new actions in his mind in case things go bad as well. Fremea lowers her spyglass and wonders why did Kiet display his arms to the dragon? -------------- [Time: 1:44:22 pm] to [Time: 1:44:30 pm] Kiet finishes his speech and waits for the results. But he realizes his flight spell duration might be over soon and recasts it. As he starts the magical words he realizes if he fails he is surely dead. He might have two bites, some 2 or 3 seconds to curse himself. This was another thing he didn't think of before he flew off. Failure would be bad here. On board ship Arawn casts a quiet spell and watches with a careful eye to his own inner eye. He sighs and fears the result. Kiet looks down as he circles the dragon and waits for his answer. When the Dragon glances at the fleeing ship and back at Kiet it quickly roars again. Kiet groans and realizes that the dragon is not nodding his agreement. Kiet glances back at the ship. He realizes the ship is now almost 1,300 feet away. His slow flight might not catch up in time unless the ship circled back. Chion smiles as he notices the original rear dragon gobble up the first chunk of meat that has reached it. Zhou is finally dragged on deck from below. All the while protesting and eating a roll in his mouth. As the sailor closes the hatch to the stairs, Kell pulls Zhou to the side. Zhou protests and spits chunks of bread at Kell as he claims he should remain below to protect it. Then Kell raises a finger to silence him and points to the water. Zhou for the first time sees the dragon. Zhou's face goes pale and half the chunk of bread falls to the deck as he chokes on the other half as it goes down his throat quickly. In that same instant he twirls around and heads back to the stairs. But Kell reaches out to grab his shoulder to stop him. Kell frowns this is the party's fearless leader in Katai? Unali and Fremea see Kiet's face go pale or is that a bit of green too? He glances back at the ship and frowns. The captain also with his own spyglass watches as Kiet shakes his head. "It didn't work!" The Captain shouts. Arawn nods having seen it in the future Kiet being chased by a angry dragon. -------------- [Time: 1:44:30 pm] Actions? Comments? Next Update...Friday...maybe GM: Dragon A [Was the original Rear one] is now 2,100 feet behind the ship. Dragon B [One near Kiet] is now 1,270 feet away from ship but only 10-15 feet away from Kiet. Kiet is also the same distance away 1,270 (plus or minus the circle 10-15 feet he is making). The ship has actually moved past both dragons now. Going back to the clock perspective. Ship is facing 4 o'clock or south-east. Dragon A is 11 o'clock (north-west of the rear of the ship). Dragon B is more 10 o'clock or west-north-west a bit. I was going to do a map but at these distance it is hard for a hex map. Would be well over 1200 hexes. I.....A.....I Original Rear Dragon I.......... I I...B.......I Original Forward/Kiet I...........I Ship I.......S...I That is a rough sketch. No scale for it though. GM: Posted actions - Arawn - Bow ready. Ben'dar - Bow ready. Fremea - Bow ready. Multiarrow Max EL, Medium-Long Range Will - Bow ready. Chion - Bow ready. Raban - Bow ready. Prepare ELmax Multi-arrow, Fire @ 300' Strie'bog- Bow ready. Fire at long range. Unali - Sling ready. Z'leyra - Sling ready. at 50' Sh Invisibility EL2 Kell - Tulwar/Shield/Spear ready. If talk go bad summon Cloud elemental GM: Sorry Kiet. Great plan. I took into account all the factors. Actor, rhetoric and such. Sadly after all the modifiers it was only a 12% chance of going off in this case. Things that might've changed that might have been a blessing for eloquence or some other magic spell. But it WAS a good plan. I like the role playing aspect of it. GM: It has been 7 minutes since the dragons were first seen or soon. In that time the rear one has yet to catch up at any good distance and likely will not. The one in front was distracted enough by Kiet now that unless the ship circles back it may not catch up (good chance). So by the very fact of the ship's speed there likely will not be any combat at all unless something changes like someone orders the ship to circle back or circle in place for Kiet to catch up. The captain looks like he has no plans to risk the ship going back. Unless someone orders it and even then it would have to be a good reason for him to do so. GM: Primary concern. How does Kiet get back to the ship? All other actions may be an aside. For example what Kell had planned might still work and do some damage if he wanted to as it would drift back away from the ship. Other actions like bow obviously is too far away to do anything. If Kiet can return to the ship safely then the chance of combat will go down to nothing. The ship can simply out run both dragons at the increased speed due to Chion's extra spell, the distance and the magic talisman If Kiet hadn't gone out to distract the dragon away there clearly would have been some melee combat by now. So in one aspect Kiet's plan worked to get the dragon away from the ship. Both dragons are now behind the ship. I have saved actions from Arawn, Kell and Will among those posted above in the posted actions section. I will keep those in mind. Will likely do Kell and Arawn's since those If...then conditions have been met (talk failures). If you want to modify those actions let me know or cancel them. GM: For mechanics - Ship is going MR 27, Dragons 24-25 depending on currents. Some like Fremea can actually fly faster than that. GM: Sorry for not coming out earlier with this. Weekend was a weekend with little computer time. Home A/C (central heat) died. So with florida going Fri/Sat of temps of 100 degrees (heat index of 112) it was 94 degrees at night in the house. So it was no time to sit at a home computer and work! It was down only saturday and fixed on sunday afternoon (some battery at the outside unit died of all things - go figure!). Its normal now. Then last night had a thunderstorm so couldn't work with the heavy lightning. So it comes out 2 days later. Oh well. Depending on actions and time I may do a update Friday if not will do one Monday. GM: Will inform Z'leyra of Raban's scan privately for her to email or post public here if Raban wants that. Old actions that were in the IBT for Z'leyra rather than posted then so including now as i work on it.