Heroica RPG - Quest #99: Six Thousand Feet Under

[Endgame]

"Best of luck."

"You three stay safe out there!"

The three heroes bid goodbye to the brothers, and walk towards their ship. navigating the practical maze of docks and boardwalks, the party finally reaches their destination. As they were told, a man in green awaited them outside the seafaring vessel.

"You three are the heroes I was supposed to ferry, yeah? Arthur, Grimwald, and Erdathcath? Captain Armstrong, at your service."

Edited April 13, 2014 by Endgame

[Flipz]

"That'd be us. Anyone else we need to wait for before we cast off?"

[The_Customizer]

"Indeed we are the three, is there anything we should be aware of before heading off?"

[LordoftheNoobs]

"Yep, that'd be us. I'm ready when you lot are."

[Endgame]

"Alright then. Excuse me if I come off as hasty, but your employer, Cobb Alttt, has decided to call in a favor. I've been ferrying him back and forth twice now, and you're my final roundtrip."

It was clear that by Excelsus' artillery, the ship's size, and its condition that this vessel wasn't made just to handle hour long trips. It was definitely made for voyages, with enough artillery to go to war. It was clear that Armstrong was irritated by what his ship's activites were, but at least he was cordial about it. A ladder drops down from the side of the ship.

"Climb up on board, and we can shove off."

The heroes follow Armstrong up, soon finding themselves on deck. The captain begins barking orders. Before long, the ropes keeping the ship in place are unrevalled, the sails unfurled, and the anchor pulled up from the briny deep. They were moving, and surpsingly quick, too. The arty begins to look around their surroundings, the green-clad Captain focussing on keeping the ship moving.

"Apologies if that captain has rubbed you the wrong way, gentlemen and lady. He's been getting aggravated, running this trip quite afew times in the past few days and all. You'll reach Goland in about an hour; what'd you say we play a game of High Tide, Low Tide to pass the time?"

[The_Customizer]

Thinking back to her previous luck in games, Erdathcath doubts her abilities in this game, yet is intrigued at the same time. "How exactly do we play this game?"

Edited April 14, 2014 by The_Customizer

[Endgame]

"It's a game of chance, but there's gold to be made, miss. Judging by how short of a trip this is, you'lll probably only be able to squeeze in 2 games for each of ya, max. After that, we're dockin'."

The deck hand pulls out a stack of cards and sets them on the table, and begins his explanation.

~High Tide, Low Tide~

-There is a deck of cards, each card being randomly numbered, 1 through 25.

-The Deckhand picks two cards, and then the participating hero picks 1.

-A coin is then flipped to decide whether it is High Tide or Low Tide (50/50 chance).

-If the coin lands on High Tide, and the hero's card is larger than the the deck hand's cards, the hero wins. If not, they lose.

-If the coin lands on Low Tide, and the hero's card is less than the deck hand's cards, the hero wins. If not, they lose.

-If the hero's card is between or equal to the deck hand's card, they lose.

"Got it? One round consists of me drawing two cards, you drawing one, and then flipping the coin. Depending on how many rounds you think you can win consecutively, the bigger of a turnout you'll get for beatin' me..."

Short Game

Entry Fee: 10 gold

Length: 1 round

Reward: 20 gold

Long Game

Entry Fee: 20 gold

Length: 2 rounds

Reward: 45 gold

Sailor's Gauntlet

Entry Fee: 40 gold

Length: 3 rounds

Reward: 50 gold + a Level-Up Mushroom

"Pick how long of a game you want, and lets get started!"

[Flipz]

OOC: How many cards total in the deck, and how many of each card is there?

[Endgame]

QM Note: I pick using a RNG. The cards are merely so it makes sense in universe: the numbers themselves are just generated. In other words, equal chance of getting any card.

Edited April 14, 2014 by Endgame

[Flipz]

OOC: And would we be rolling against the sum of the two numbers, or just the numbers individually?

[Endgame]

QM Note: The numbers individually, not added. But as soon as you get something equal to or between those two numbers - or get the wrong tide - it's game over.

[LordoftheNoobs]

"Thanks for the offer there fella, but I'm not much of a gambler (my luck doesn't allow for it...), so I think I'll pass."

[Endgame]

"Crying shame. You know when to pick your battles though, so that's always a plus.

What brings you to Goland, anyway?"

[Flipz]

"With respect, I think I'll decline." Arthur moves to the bow of the ship to wait out the voyage, periodically scanning the horizon with his Telescope.

[The_Customizer]

"I'll stay with them in opinion, seems like a fun game, but I tend to be low on my luck in these things. So, sadly, I'll pass as well." Erdathcath uses her shovel to find hidden treasure on the ship.

[Endgame]

The deck hand gives Erdathcath a small scolding for using the shovel on the ship.

"'Ey! I just gave this area a scrubbing! Don't go missing it up!"

Arthur scans the horizon with his telescope, looking into the distance. A small island emerges, magnified by the telescope's impressive lens.

The island itself was flat, the sea-level mainland pebbly beach. A few trees dotted it, but the sandy soil prevented any forests from sprining up. A small settlement exists near the west side of the island, Excelsus pulling closer and closer to the dock. A mountain dominates the grand majority of the island. An imposing tower stands up from the massive stone incline: manmade or produced by nature, it was uncertain. Nevertheless, the mountain made for a striking image.

"Wacky island, eh? Quite the mountain."

In a matter of minutes, the ship draws closer and closer to the island. Before long, the anchor drops from the deck, plunging into the crystal clear depths. The deck hands scramble to tie the ropes, and in what seems like a matter of seconds, the ship was docked.

The heroes disembark, stepping onto the dock of Goland.

The prospector of the island converses with Captain Armstrong.

"Always great seeing you, Raphael. Sorry I had to call in such a monotonous favor..."

"Not a problem, Cobb. You've helped me out plenty of times now - as tedious as going back and forth may be, its only a fair repayment."

Cobb's attention turns to the heroes.

"So, heroes, welcome to Goland. What do you think? I'll walk you over to the mining settlement, and we'll talk over you job on the way there. After that, you can interview some survivors, and enter the depths..."

Edited April 15, 2014 by Endgame

[Flipz]

"Odd shape for a mountain, but I suppose there're stranger. What kind of things d'you mine out here?"

[Endgame]

"As odd as it sounds... Anything you can think of, really. Goland's mountain is just bizzare. Something must've holed up here way back when, whatever it was. Jewels, coal, iron, diamond... it's all here. Needless to say, its been a figurative goldmine, providing ores of all sorts. We've actually got a shipment of jewels that are going out the Shadeaux shortly. Of course, this whole monster business has thrown a wrench in that order..."

[LordoftheNoobs]

"Wow, a strange amount of minerals for a strangely-shaped mountain! Oh right, the monster... Has anyone actually seen this thing? Any idea what we should look out for?"

[Flipz]

"As odd as it sounds... Anything you can think of, really. Goland's mountain is just bizzare. Something must've holed up here way back when, whatever it was. Jewels, coal, iron, diamond... it's all here. Needless to say, its been a figurative goldmine, providing ores of all sorts. We've actually got a shipment of jewels that are going out the Shadeaux shortly. Of course, this whole monster business has thrown a wrench in that order..."

"The Shadeaux, eh? Can't say I wouldn't mind the opportunity to help them out...and you, of course. What was their order, and how can we help get it to them on time?"

Edited April 16, 2014 by Flipz

[The_Customizer]

"Ah, I have had some dealings with them before, seem a reasonable folk. If the discovery of these monsters is messing with their order, what could we do to help with that? Additionally, do you have anything of note on this island aside from the mountain? No hidden doorways or anything?"

[LordoftheNoobs]

"Yes quite, I helped escort one of their caravans safely once, helping them out again would be a pleasure."

[Flipz]

"Hm. My good friend Thormanil's served them well, and was rewarded handsomely for it. Given that they seem to actually care about others, and the fact that unlike the Hinckwells none of them have tried to run this sword through me--" Arthur indicates Sir Roderick's sword, currently hanging unused in a scabbard at his waist, "--they seem like the House worth supporting."

[Endgame]

"The Shadeaux, eh? Can't say I wouldn't mind the opportunity to help them out...and you, of course. What was their order, and how can we help get it to them on time?"

"Diamonds. For a jewelry line, I think. They were being processed on the second level of the mine before the monster appeared. If you can somehow retrieve them, and clean all of the dirt off of them, they'd be ready for delivery."

"Ah, I have had some dealings with them before, seem a reasonable folk. If the discovery of these monsters is messing with their order, what could we do to help with that? Additionally, do you have anything of note on this island aside from the mountain? No hidden doorways or anything?"

"Like I said before, the Shadeaux sipment is already mined - just trapped within the mine itself. You're gonna have to get it back somehow, and take down whatever lurks inside the mine. Some of my workers said it was a full forty feet tall...

The mine itself has only one entrance. After we found some of our workers dead in the mines, we abandoned it. That was about a week ago. We've set up scaffolding and are beginning to extract from the side of the mountain, but its absolutely nothing to what the normal mine gives us. We'll be sunk soon, if we can't return to work as usual. I've sunk a decade of my life into this island - I'm not about to give it up because some menace thinks it can terrorize us!

The mine has two levels, plus one area that is sealed tight. No one has gotten through that one passage, ever."

"Yes quite, I helped escort one of their caravans safely once, helping them out again would be a pleasure."

"If you could somehow get that order back, it'd be appreciated. Very much appreciated. I'm sure you'll gain even more of the Shadeaux's favor, as well...

Are you ready to interveiw my miners now?"

[LordoftheNoobs]

"Excellent, sounds very much worth my time. And if I can help you nice miners while I'm at it, so much the better", Grimwald smiles sincerely.

"And yes, that's sounds like a good idea. I'm ready."