Boat Cabin Fever

I asked the players to write e-mails to each other about what they did for the two months they were on the boat. I'm posting the content of these e-mails here, as well as some of the test images for a new logo/image set I'm working on (may never see actual light of day).

In the future, we'll be using message board setup, which should allow for more fluid narration and in-character moments. Below being the first attempt and via group e-mails, will read a bit odd. I've marked off each section as they were e-mailed.

It's a bit of a longer post, so you can find it here, after the break.

Mindi (1)

Mindi is pretty open about her life, so she'd say all this to any and all who would listen.

On a particularly rainy day, Mindi shelters herself inside the ship. She looks to Einkil: "Good morning, Mr Dwarf! We never really properly introduced. My name is Mindi Lockhart, and I come from far, far away!" she pauses a second, and then addresses the rest of the party (or whoever is in the room with us), "come to think of it, we never really introduced ourselves, did we? With the exception of our comedian Firin, here, I know none of you folks. This past week has been quite the ride, with the goblins, the trip with Jim," Mindi
winks and does her best Jim impersonation, flailing her arms in an over exaggerated way and then says "Jim winks!" She laughs and continues: "I guess we can take this time to get to know each other, right?" She looks over at Jyoji and tosses a small pebble playfully at him to grab his attention. "That includes you, Mr. Party-Pooper. We're gonna be together a while, so you might as well like it!" She takes a deep breath, and then begins her own story. "In a nutshell, I come from overseas- Golarion. If I'm not mistaken, you folks are all from Faerun, which means you might not be familiar with the Gnomish condition I could contract called the 'Bleaching.' It's a terrible, debilitating disease we get if we're not out experiencing life to it's fullest! This is kinda why I like the frontlines, right Mr. Cottonswank Bubblebottom?"
Her Eidolon, yawns lazily and responds "You have quite the deathwish, little one. Luckily for me, I can't die on your plane... But I'm not excused from the pain and suffering from this plane." He shoots a look over in Firin's direction, and then puts his enormous cat-like head back into Mindi's lap.
"Right! So where do you all hail from? What's your ambitions? Why have you decided to join the Pathfinder's Society?"


Another day, this time bright and sunny, Mindi spends her time with Linari and Firin, assisting Linari breaking in a horse for combat training. They take turns sparring while mounted, hitting each other with padded weaponry.


Being quite the lightweight, Mindi found herself drunk quickly when attempting to keep up with her other party members' alcohol consumption. On mornings after, she spent her hungover time silently praying to her Goddess and polishing a mirror. The mirror has been jury rigged in such a way that she can clasp it to her left forearm and not be hindered in any way.


Mindi's sleeping arrangements are quite convenient. Despite having a bunk or cot being provided, Mindi has essentially lived outdoors her entire life. She finds a soft little corner and curls up with her Eidolon, despite the fact that he gets banished to his realm when she finally falls asleep. Her morning rituals include a brief half hour jog around the deck, right before dawn, When the sun comes up, she watches the sunrise quietly with Mr Cottonswank Bubblebottom, and then provides help wherever she can on the boat, usually on the mast or rigging.

Jyoji (1)

Jyoji is less vocal than most choosing instead to focus on his own interests.  This is very much in line with the Oread habit of being slow to warm up to people, though he has shown a bit of a warmth or friendliness to the other elemental (Scyer) and the new dwarf (Einkil) [this is also very much in line with traditional Oread behavior.  The elemental shares common roots with Oreads who are also elementals, and as an earth elemental, Oreads enjoy the company of dwarves who have a close connection with the mountains and earth].  Most of the time he prefers quiet meditation, or more often, physical training.

Most mornings begin with sparring with Gith on the deck of their transport vessel.  Both wear faces of relaxed calm at the beginning which, for Jyoji, eventually turn to slight frustration or wonder at Giths ability to evade almost all of Jyoji's offensive efforts.  Though it is generally not a custom to fight on a ship, the sailors aboard have come to terms with the fact that this has become a thing, a ritual almost.  Some even group together to watch at times, rooting for one or the other and even gambling on occasion, though that habit died out quickly when it became clear that the competitions were very much one sided.

Most of his limited conversations occurred after the mid afternoon sparring sessions before the party took dinner in the lower deck.  These conversations tended to be short and to the point.  Being a not-too-charismatic person, this was probably okay with those he spoke with.  Of the gnomes, he avoided Firin at every possibility.  When forced to be near him for whatever circumstantial reason, it was quite visibly clear that the Oread was uncomfortable.  Oddly enough, these signs were at the least less visible when he was around Mindi who always tried to be chipper and pleasant, even when her Eidolon, referred to by Jyoji as "Cat" (he refused to say the name in full, much to the displeasure of Mindi) had that one rather unpleasant hair-ball incident.  Conversations between the two grew from quick "hello's" to full sentences, and even once or twice a joke that flew over Jyoji's head though it was clear he was not opposed to the effort as he once was.


With Einkil, Jyoji mostly discussed his past travels and his favorite mountainous regions, attempting to draw commonalities with the dwarf. He is unable to ascertain what it is exactly that the dwarf is (class), and feels it is not his place to pry just yet though he does make note of the weapon that he carries.  Though able to get along just fine, relative to some of his other party members, he is not quite fully understanding of Einkil's obsession with drink.  "Do you not worry of the ale's effects on your body?  On your abilities?  I myself have tried it once, curious as I was, and found that I was not nearly as efficient with... well... anything really.  I had a funny way of walking that time.  And I woke up with several angry and bruised people cursing my name.  I was quickly asked to leave that particular establishment, which I do not remember entering in the first place...  I don't believe that the drink is for me...  Vile thing, it is.  It is as if people were to choose to weaken themselves, their physical and mental faculties.  I choose now to focus on the more important things.  Training my power.  My mind."

Scyr

Well, my interaction with people is mostly based on how often people want to visit me in the brig. Whoever
does come down I'll be pretty friendly to. It gets so lonely down here.......... If Einkill does come down, I would like to inform him of what happened and that I am trying to increase my knowledge and understanding of the arcane and the world before the spell plague. Also I would like to ask him to bring some ale down (
trying to stay on his good side because dwarves usually aren't huge fans of sylph).
If I am let out early enough, I would like to mostly observe the happenings and daily tasks on the ship (not being familiar with boat travel). If people approach me  I'll be friendly enough but mostly keeping to myself.  Most nights and anytime there is more rough weather of any sort, you can find me on the deck meditating, embracing the storm as if it home.

Mindi (2)

Mindi remembers the unfortunate magic user who was immediately locked into the brig for showing off his magic to the silly superstitious crew. On the first night at sea, she visited the hapless Sylph, sneaking off with her pet while shaded by clouds. She was sure to bring a few slices of bread, cheese, and a wineskin.
"Psst! Catch!" As she tossed the items down through the narrow openings. "Figured you'd like some
company!"
Over the course of the journey, Mindi made it a personal vendetta (due to her hatred for being bound to one place) to convince the other members of the ship that the sorcerer was not to be feared, and was actually pretty nice. She knew this would take some time, however, but she made sure to visit at least once a day with a gift of wine or ale.

The Crew of Greener Grass

Mindi's insistence and, more importantly, her looming Eidolon, would be enough to persuade the crew, after several weeks had passed, to release Scyr, as long as he promised to not practice magic on the ship.

They still did not trust him, and more than one wouldn't hesitate to assist the sorcerer to "accidentally" fall overboard.

Linari

Linari spends the first 3 weeks Combat training the Horse with Mindi and Firin into a Fearless Warhorse earning the name Agro. With much appreciation Linari will offer 10 gold to Mindi and Firin for their
assistance. While training the horse she will converse with both Mindi and Firin asking about their goals in joining the pathfinders group and any future aspirations. Replying in kind with her goal to use this trip as a means to train and better herself and be of service to her family and their goal of putting an end to the cult of
Dragons.

When not training  Agro she will keep up with daily exercises to stay in shape and hone her skills with the lance. In the mornings she will watch Gith and Jyoji train after a few days of watching she asks/offers to be a sparring partner for Jyoji Seeing as he and Gith are the only real Fighters on board and she dare not ask any of the crew for they seem to steer clear from her.

Linari stays away from Scyr not for any dislike or distrust but more to keep the crew at ease. They already don't like having both women and magic on board and she is sure they don't want them together.

As for Einkil She will is interested in her new companion being what appears to be another fighter she will ask to spar with him but gives up on the thought after seeing as he is  drunk and hungover most of the time. Whenever Einkill is drinking Linari will stay clear from him as most men become slobbering Idiots under the effects of to much alcohol. During the periods of time that he is sober she will converse about the past exploits of the group and some of her future aspirations hoping to hear about his in turn.

 Most if not all of the crew giver her strange looks as if she is possessed. She ignores the looks as she knows the cause is her white hair and eyes. Wishing to not cause any trouble with the crew she keeps to herself when not with anyone from the group.

Einkil

Einkil enjoys spending his time with his fellow crewmates. While not a boatsman by nature, he finds himself a little uneasy on the ship but after a few days he somehow manages to find his sea legs. Most days Einkil
passes the time keeping his axe sharp and reading a weathered book he carries around with him. The less educated crewmates have asked him what kind of a creature brings a book on a sea journey, but he merely chuckles and recants a tale from his past between swigs of ale to steer the conversation elsewhere. These tales tend to involve the work he has done helping his father craft "glorious" weapons from his ill fated clan. At the very least, it got them to shut up about the book. "I'm glad they had the foresight to bring decent drink on this journey," he regularly thinks to himself.

Einkil's attention regularly returns to his pathfinder companions. A curious lot they are. He often wonders how they came together and, more importantly, why they haven't killed each other during these long weeks. I mean, honestly, 2 elementals, 2 gnomes, a dwarf, and a human... is just asking to be the start of a terrible joke...

He takes particular interest in Jyoji. This was the first time Einkil had met an Oread. Of course, he had heard about such creatures but to see a living rock "in the flesh" so to speak, was a profoundly new experience. He greatly enjoyed the creature's demeanor and talked at length with him about his past and homeland. Einkil also respected him for his fighting ability though made a note to not cross his trainer. There was just something not right about that one. He had noticed, however, that the Oread wasn't particularly fond of his drinking, even if Einkil showed no visible signs of drunkenness. (It'd take much more alcohol than this boat has to get a dwarf drunk) On that particular day, Einkil replied, "To my people, our drink is a testament to our life, vitality, and constitution. Honestly, it's just something that's always been a part of me. Tradition if you will. You know what they say, A mead in the hand, is worth two goblin's heads in a bush." After a swig, Einkil continues, "Erm, you probably wouldn't know what they say would you? Anyway, join me friend. A single flagon won't kill you."

With respect to the Gnomes, Einkil is cordial enough. He doesn't particularly trust either one of them and chooses not to open up to much to either of them. However, Einkil does not go out of his way to avoid them either. They do make for entertaining drinking partners even if they can't hold their alcohol.

Einkil has also noticed that Linari seems to mostly ignore him. "Another one on this craft who doesn't appreciate a fine ale," he thinks to himself. However, she seems to be reasonable enough. Einkil does get a kick out of her trying to teach a horse combat on a boat however. Horses are not exactly known to be the best sea travelers but having a horse does have its merit and could prove useful to the group moving forward. If nothing else we could use it to carry extra gear and loot we may stumble across on this journey.

Oh Scyr. How typical it is for a sylph to get himself thrown into the brig so early on in the journey. It is apparent that he hasn't been around boatsman before. Seeing as he has nowhere to go, Einkil made several stops down there, making sure to bring ale with him. Why should he suffer THAT much for his stupidity? Einkil is also particularly fascinated by the slyph's knowledge of the arcane and asks Scyr to share what he knows with him. "I'm not so superstitious as the rest of those lot. Magic has its time and place like everything else." he says.

Firin

As noted before Firin will be spending some time with Mindi and Linari training the horse, mostly because he's kinda bored. When asked about his ambitions, Firin just mentions that as an oracle he has been chosen by some unseen power for some greater purpose, he feels it is his duty to uncover the mystery surrounding his gift/curse and what better way to do so than travel the world and see where things lead him. The Pathfinder society seemed that it would give him a bit more direction and if he's going to travel, he figured he
might as well get paid for it.

When he isn't busy, Firin spends time making fast friends with the sailors. He acts mostly normal and likable, attempting to get them them to open up to him. He talks with them about their pasts, hardships they may have gone through, the things they love, the people they miss etc. meanwhile subtly sowing the seeds of misery under false pretenses of friendship. (this is of course, OOC knowledge that Firin feels like that, as far as anyone else is concerned, he appears as friendly as can be)

For instance a conversation may go along these lines:
"Oh, you're wife sounds like a lovely lady! And you sure are a grand role model for your children, you're so dependable that even when you're so far away you still provide for them through your work, sending your paycheck to them each week. You certainly must introduce me If we ever make it back alive! This certainly is a dangerous mission, you must make sure you are extra careful, you've got people counting on you!"

When it comes to meeting Einkil, he keeps up his friendly demeanor and would most likely attempt to learn more about the dwarf's history. If Einkil has any scars or visible signs of something happening to him, Firin would assuredly ask about them given the chance.

Jyoji keeping his distance from Firin actually ends up stirring up even more curiosity. He makes it a point to try and talk to the Oreid every day, at least a sentence or two. When he is inevitably pushed away, he asks

"Oh come on, why are you so cold to us gnomes? I know for a fact that I personally haven't slighted you, in fact I believe I have shown nothing but a completely sincere interest in your well being just as I have with all the others. Were you perhaps wronged by gnomekind in the past?

Mindi (3)

Mindi, who had been gnawing on a piece of dried jerky, perks up and listens to the two in conversation,
intently watching both her gnome counterpart's reaction, as well as the silent stone-man. She finishes her bite, and then whispers to Firin, but loud enough for Jyoji to hear: "Firin, it really isn't worth it. I've tried with little to no success to even get one word answers from him. Mr. Cottonswank Bubblebottom is also quite fed up with him, to. He calls him 'Cat.' You know how he takes to that.... Dunno what he expects from the Pathfinder's Society, either, setting how very diverse it is... best to just leave him alone with his new master. With any luck, he'll leave with his trainer and we'll be better off." She looks up at the Oread, smiles brightly and says: "right, stone-man?"

Jyoji (2)

The stone man merely grumbles at least last claim.  The wording most assuredly came across as a slight to
some of the people who happened to be in the room, the crew and such [for the sake of RPing I will try to avoid assuming what other characters would assume or figure out, etc.]  He simply stands and without looking down he states "I may be better off.  But you all certainly would not be.  You've one true tested fighter amongst you if you don't count the cat.  And the cat can only carry you so far.  And though I admire your passion for entering the fray, you ought take care and remember just how.... squishy...  your type are...  Were I gone, so too would you be shortly."

Firin piped up at this with some manner of polite though strained objection asking if Jyoji meant offence.

"No."

Firin continues "Well, not to step on your toes with this or anything, but don't you think you've been just a little unfair to us gnomes?"

"No."

"So," the gnome responds, "you'll just continue dismissing us?"

"No."

Mindi hears this and perks up somewhat excitedly.  With a bit of pep in her step she asks "So you're going to start respecting us?  Maybe be a bit nicer?"

"No.  I've already, or so I've thought, tried being...  Polite...  With you... Mindi.  And as I just stated, I respect your... determination."

She ponders for a second....  She just asked him if he'd respect them, he said no, but in a sense showed her some praise...  Firin ponders too about these seemingly contradictory answers then sighs.

"So...  You're just going to continue dismissing me then...  Just me...  Is that right?"

"....Yes."

"Can I at least get more than one word out of you?  You've had a full conversation with Mindi!  I'm right here!  Just a two word sentence?  Maybe an extra syllable even?"

"...No."  Jyoji turns on his heels and joins the other elemental and dwarf at the brig.

--------
Several nights during the trip, Jyoji finds dead rats tucked into his sleeping roll.


(The culmination of these conversations can be found in episode 4 of Never Split the Party)