Danae wants eggs. Ohani eggs. And just as Faris surmised, such eggs are jealously guarded. "Since the odds are already stacked against you, as promised, I shall provide a means of transportation. I'll even give you a crew." Danae's flair for the dramatic knows no bounds: With a sly smile, he spreads out an arm and a harpy yanks open one of the shutters blocking the late afternoon sunlight from streaming into the temple. It is difficult to see through the small gap, but Danae leads the group outside to reveal what he calls a skyboat. "The Ohani gave it to me as an offering." He pouts. "Why they think a god has need of a flying boat, I will never understand." He stomps a foot on the hard deck. The material feels like blubber to the touch, but is stretched taut over something solid. "I specifically asked for an egg!"
In the three days since, the temple group has travelled to Vynett to reunite with the rest of the vanguard and the rescue party. The skyboat makes the journey in just over an hour, but is caught up in the Malaki attack and the clean-up afterwards. The trip to the portal is similarly short by comparison, but still gives the group time to discuss their options and tend to their injured en route. In no time at all, the skyboat is flying over the oceans of Neluna toward a vast city of pyramid-like narrow towers. As the harpy crew lands the skyboat on a shiny black platform at the base of the city, the discussion spills over into a full-blown argument.
"You seriously want to try asking them for an egg?"
"Why not? I mean, look at this place. They're obviously pretty advanced. They'd probably understand."
"Like Mikel didn't try that already? And look where it got him!"
"Oh Xanth, ew. Don't remind me. And we don't even know if that's what he did."
"So we ask."
"And they say no, and then what? They suddenly know why we're here so they're on guard, making it even harder to steal one instead. I say we just go for the thieving first off."
"And I suppose you know where the eggs even are, then, genius?"
"Well, no. We'd have to find them first."
"And while we're poking around their city, these Ohani things are just, what, watching with a smile on their faces?"
"Duh. Someone acts as a decoy, like we're here to trade, and we look for the eggs under the guise of exploring."
"That's the stupidest plan I've ever heard."
"Oh, oh, and I suppose asking for an egg works, then, does it? Who's the idiot here?"
"Well, it's either that or your hare-brained scheme or I say we just take off and forget the whole thing. There's no guarantee we're even infected."
"So you want to just abandon the people who are? And you heard what Danae said. He said we're all already dead, like he knows something we don't. What if we are infected and we just don't know it yet?"
"That guy is a whacked-out nutjob. He'd say anything to get us to do his dirty work. If he was a real god, like he says, why doesn't he come over here and get the eggs for himself, huh?"
"I dunno, but do you really want to chance it? I say we assume everyone's infected and act accordingly."
"So we ask."
"No, you ass. We steal it!"
The skyboat hatch opens and the harpies lower the gangplank. A small group of Ohani are waiting on the platform. One is garbed in delicate fabrics and wears a friendly smile, the rest are clad in bone armour and from their aggressive poses seem to be her guards. She speaks to a harpy in a foreign tongue, then tilts her head in curiosity when she spies one of the Elysians. There is a wealth of questions written all across her pale green face before she even says anything, and as if recognising that the group cannot understand her words, she gestures for them to descend the gangplank onto the dock. "Welcome," she says in her alien tongue. "Welcome. You are here, why?"
Note: Don't forget to worldbuild as you plot! You can now also create/join side threads to explore events through Chapter One to Four, or to finish previous chapter threads.
PCs will be added to this list as they join. If NPCs (italics) do not already have profiles linked and are not personal NPCs, you can make them up as you go and their listed vitals will be updated per chapter.
Aella Karakinos — Unaffiliated Ayad, blacksmith's apprentice (inactive, following)
Aiden Roy — Therian (inactive, following)
Aifric Ramsey — Therian Cartographer
Alain Gaston-Moreaux — Red Warden
Faris ibn Alsyad — Purifier rep attached to LoP
Ionia Essytia — Skotadi representative, League of Adventurers (inactive, following)
Kiel Taskel — Rutilus, League of Protectors
Maaike Sullivan — Therian scout, LoP-attached mercenary
Mortimer Jericho — Peteulanus, supplies & logistics, translator
Nimisha — Sidhe forest guide for unmapped areas
Raphael — Djinn bodyguard and hunter attached to Ionia
Ninian Aedh — Therian enforcer attached to Jericho
Shane — Shadowkin attached to Kiel
Clara Moreaux — Feisty adventurer, Alain's wife
Rahil'Taj ibn Murad — Zanaryan Dao, Serren scribe, scribe
Na'im — Djinn attached to Rahil
Jael — large Zanaryan attached to Rahil
Zephyr Cairbre — antisocial Rutilus
Diana — Peteulanus attached to Zephyr
Elias — Aurumus attached to Zephyr
- Acquire those eggs!
This chapter will end out of character at midnight (GMT) on the 11th of September. In-character, the events of this chapter will last one week.
The skyboat is made of reinforced bone with a blubber skin. It is powered by a crystal and can both levitate (it has a max height of one hundred feet above ground level) and float on the ocean like a regular ship. See here (bottom right panel) for an idea of what they look like.