Czlaplon Quest

[TarlimanJoppos]

Kolbeinn nods to Alston. “Yes,” he muffles, then swallows. “Much conjuring. Many tricks of the water. And one of the air.” He glances down at his plate, and points to his beans with his spoon. He's mounded them up into a sort of conical shape.

BLAM! Something small goes bouncing across the deck!

[Kasbak]

The cone of silence trick, that's a standard proceedure. And many tricks of the water. If it's not Kolbeinn's doing, then that means there's another Elementalist aboard. One that has something to say that they don't want others overhearing...

Before I can think on that, however, there's a new target making itself known. I will immediately take to the air at the noise, just hovering above my seat for now, but ready to rise up higher if I need a better view. My bow is in my hand, with the other on my quiver, but I won't have an arrow nocked just yet. I will look first to where the bouncing is coming from, then back to the initial 'blam'.

[arcomniflash]

I knew something was odd here, and the allusion to the cone of silence just proves it. However, this small object must be dealt with first. I'll stand up, glancing over my shoulder at it to get a better look at what's bouncing across the deck, I will of course have one hand on my sword, but it's going to take split second timing to determine what this thing is and act appropriately.

[TarlimanJoppos]

Kolbeinn likewise rises, and puts a hand into his belt pouch as he turns.

The young woman who had jumped up and started after the bouncing object freezes, staring at the lot of you. “My baby,” she says, falteringly. “Her sippy cup.” She points to the wooden cup that has come to rest three tables away.

[arcomniflash]

I'll raise an eyebrow at the woman before bringing my hat down low over my eyes and tipping it towards her, sitting back down without saying a word. False alarm, clearly our pursuers aren't ready to make a move yet, whatever it is they're up to. In hindsight it would be strange for them to attack so directly after spending so much time in the shadows. Oh, well, I'll remain alert anyway, as I think this is as much mado' yeh as I'm going to be eating today. I'll sit back down and push my food around on the plate.

[Kasbak]

False alarm or not, something is still up. Kolbeinn wouldn't have noticed a cone of silence in effect if there wasn't. I'll take my hand off my quiver, but won't reshoulder my bow yet. While I'm in the air and above everyone, I will take two looks around; one with normal sight, one with Astral sight. I may not be an Elementalist, but I should still be able to spot an elemental. I can sit back down and finish eating after I've made sure everything is clear.

Preemptively rolling a regular Perception test and an Astral Sight (2d6 for both, threw karma on the latter)

Perception
6(r)+6(r)+2+5=19

Astral
6(r)+3+5+10(kr)+10(r)+8=42

(Seems I'm channeling Brendan again)

[TarlimanJoppos]

Alston: There's an air elemental hovering right next to Kolbeinn. With that roll, you can even tell that it's under Kolbeinn's control. It gives you the equivalent of a raised eyebrow, then goes back to keeping a metaphorical eye on the room, and maintaining a cone of silence over your table.

The young woman cautiously retrieves the sippy cup, and returns to her table. People around you seem to be losing interest in their meals and leaving early.

[Kasbak]

Okay, we really need to work with Kolbeinn on the language thing so we can make sure meanings are clear. No matter for now though. I'll breathe a sigh of relief and clarify for Isaac, "He meant the silence is on us, so we can speak." Still, it isn't fully secure; we're in the open and lips can be read. But we can at least give non-specific information well enough.

"I checked the first on the list, nothing interesting. Either that trail is cold or there is no trail from there. I'm thinking I should stick around with you for a bit to see if your mark shows up again. That way I can check positions and get a fresh reading." Besides, being small may make it easier for me to conceal myself and turn the tables on who is watching who.

It may take a bit though. If we are being watched, our pursuers know we are on the look out, especially now. As for the rest of the passengers, it should be easy enough to play this incident off as part of the act. We are supposed to have the dark and dangerous Horror Stalker after all.

[arcomniflash]

I'll sigh, clarity indeed. "That sounds like a good idea to me. Though keep your wits about you, after this incident, our pursuers either think we are extremely paranoid, or that we know something is up. I'd lean towards the former, but I can't be sure." Finishing off the rest of the food on my plate, I'll dab my lips. "I'm going to take a walk around the ship, perhaps I'll find out more that way, just by observing." I'll tip my hat to the Windling and stand up, adjusting my cloak and heading off in another direction. Mainly, I'd like to go where other passengers are - as this is a cruise ship, there must be some events that don't involve us scheduled for the remainder of the day. Of course, I'll be using astral sight to surreptitiously scan crowds and such, so I'll roll for that with a point of karma added on top -

(d8+d6+d8) - 4+5+8[+5] = 22

[TarlimanJoppos]

The people around you seem to settle down a bit, but as previously noted, many of them hurry through the remainder of their noon meal and depart, rather than lingering in the lounge as you would expect for a proper mado'yeh. As Isaac leaves, the sense of relief is noticeable.

Isaac: You lurk around the edges of the passenger crowds for the rest of the afternoon, and up until dinnertime. A couple of times, that boy shows up and starts asking questions again, until his mother comes and gets him and hauls him away. By dinner time, you're exhausted and your head is throbbing from the strain of using your Astral Sight so much. You've spotted that woman a couple of times, once attending a workshop on embroidery in the aft parlor, and another time playing dominoes with three other women up in the first class lounge. Both times, there's a definite aura of active magic around her, but you'd have to obviously stare intently at her to try and see through it to determine what exactly it is. You also spot a crewman, one of the mess stewards, who has some kind of inactive magic on him, maybe a talisman or amulet, can't tell without further examination.

Alston: You and Kolbeinn are still in the main deck lounge when Mekhitar arrives. He glances around, raises an eyebrow at you, then gives the remaining passengers a flourish with his hat and loudly introduces himself. One of the stewards provides a tall stool for him to perch on, and he launches into a well known humorous song, one suitable for singing around children, and lifts the mood a bit. Kolbeinn excuses himself partway through, saying (in Sperethiel) that he's tired from his demo earlier, that Mekhitar shouldn't get upstaged while he's doing damage control, and that he will be in his cabin if you need him.