Turn 1: The Docks and the Arbore
AllThe main Spelljammer dockyards are practically a national monument- more than a mile of pearly stone and enchanted timber designed to cradle the plane traveling vessels that carry the will of the empire to the stars. There's every amenity available, constant media attention, and the paving stones have been enchanted to emit a constant pleasing aroma. It's the kind of place where anyone visiting the capital absolutely has to go to to have their picture taken with whatever fantastical vessel happens to be in the dockyard and post about how amazing it was on social media.
Your ship is not docked at the main Spelljammer yards. It's not docked at the secondary dockyards either. It's docked in the tertiary auxiliary reserve sub-yard, which is a less of a national monument and more of place to stick Spelljammers that are damaged but don't warrant immediate repairs, are unsightly, are privately owned by utter cheapskates, or are experimental enough that the Mananauts don't want to risk an audience when they explode. Your Spelljammer, the Arbore, you know is not privately owned, it's not terrible unsightly, and has no apparent damage. Which puts it firmly in the last category.
The Arbore is rather peculiar. Rather than being shaped like some fantastical creature, it looks like nothing so much as a massive
gem shaped terrarium. The upper three quarter's of the Spelljammer's exterior is constructed of some nearly transparent material, which gives an excellent view of the oak tree growing in the middle of the structure. For an oak, it's relatively small, probably between thirty and fourty feet, but its branches have a spread that
almost touches the edges of the Spelljammer. The ground beneath the tree is carefully manicured and grassy, with a single door mounted in an artificial hill hinting at underground structure. The lower quarter of the terrarium, however, is opaque, and sadly does not provide an ant-colony view of any rooms below.
The door connecting it it to the docks is connected at the grass line, and is constructed from the same transparent material as most of the hull structure. Waiting in front of the door for you and your three companions is a fresh looking young mananaut wearing the teal coat of a mission analyst. He's tall, perfectly clean, with corn colored hair that has been parted and locked in position by either great effort or a healthy application of magic. He also waves enthusiastically the instant he spots you, as though the Arbore was the kind of ship you could accidentally miss.
"Hey! Good to see you, good to see all of you! Farris, Eyal, Irneus, aaand... yes! Randal! I'm glad you're all here, there's apparently been some mix-up with launch dates and you're the last members of the team to arrive. My name is Locke, and this is, as you can see, is the Arbore." Locke makes a couple of ticks on a clipboard, and motions you forward before you have a chance to speak.
"So, let's get cracking with the tour and get your things stowed so that the Captain can get us underway."Locke beckons to you and turns on his heel, heading into the Arbore. With little else to do you, you follow.
"So, as you can see, this is Shelby's Tree," Locke says, gesturing to the tree.
"She's the navigator, and she's, err, different. Up in the branches is the bridge, you probably won't spend a lot of time in there, but if you need to the ladder is on the trunk." It wasn't visible from the outside, but there is indeed a tree-house built into the upper branches of the oak tree. The structure looks sturdily built and well anchored to the tree, but it's not exactly what you expected for the bridge of a Mananaut Spelljammer.
"Now we'll be heading down below, so mind your step and watch your head."Locke guides you through the small door that leads down into the earth the tree is growing from. Inside, the dirt is held back by solid wood and light is provided by manabulbs in bare fixtures. Locke chatters on about the Arbore's simple and rugged design, and he introduces you to passing crew members whose names and roles you promptly forget. The amenities are really rather spare. There's a small growing area filled wall to wall with
Manana plants, a storage area packed to bursting with various sundry supplies, a four-person teleportation glyph and scrying station for landing parties, an armory the size of a cubby, and an infirmary that makes more use of space saving triple bunk beds than you've ever seen in a medical suite.
"So, before I show you to your rooms so you can settle in, we'll swing by the mess-hall-slash-recreation-area. It's not much, but there's enough room for about half the crew to eat at once, and there's a pinball machine, a computer, and phone if you ever need to contact people back home." Locke flashes you a quick grin of pearly white teeth and pushes the door open, treating you to your first set of the ship's mess. There is indeed an arcade machine in the corner. There is indeed a computer. There is indeed a table with seats for at least a dozen people. More interestingly, there's an arm wrestling match going on at that table between a woman made of wood and a stout looking dwarf. The dwarf is dressed in grey mananaut attire, and her hair and beard have gone completely grey with age. Her hair has been braided into her eyebrows which have been braided into her mustache which has in turn been braided into her beard, and her sleeve has fallen back from the arm engaged with match to reveal a stupefying amount of muscle. The woman made of wood, you presume the dryad, is wearing a skin tight black leather miniskirt, a loose chain belt, and a black leather top piece that's crosslaced across the front to expose... well, more wood. She's got what looks for all the world like a handrolled joint clenched between wooden teeth, and a thin spiral of blue smoke rises from the end. For just a moment, her eyes flick up to notice Locke open the door.
In that moment, the dwarf grunts and slams the dryad's hand into the table. The Dryad looks back and curses, untangling her hand and wringing it as the dwarf settles back silently and strokes her braided mustache.
"Damnit, Locke, I had that!" The Dryad swears again points accusingly at the dwarf
"You know I had that."The dwarf shrugs soberly and stands up from the table, walking over to a slate on the back wall. Across the top of the slate, the words 'Janitor Vs. World' are written. Janitor has a lot of tallies in it. World has none.
"Ah, sorry," Locke says, not sounding terribly sorry.
"Shelby, Janitor, these are the new members of our away team."The greyed Dwarf nods to you and your companions to acknowledge your existence. Shelby just cocks her head at you.
"'Sup. Aren't you like, really late?""There was a bit of an administrative mixup." Locke shrugs, then frowns at Shelby's joint.
"Shelby, Mananaut regulations clearly state there is no smoking to be done below-decks on a Spelljammer."Shelby rolls her eyes.
"Doesn't protocol also state that abitchwithastickuphisasssayswhat?""What?" An expression of glee forms across the dryad's face as a foot long stick grows from her right hand.
Dawning horror spreads across Locke's face as his brain catches up to what Shelby just said.
"Enough." The single word is delivered, without shouting, but with the finality of an executioner's blow. A short, slim, older woman in an embroidered captain's coat stands in the doorway at the opposite end of the mess. One of her eyes is closed by a scar that bisects her eyebrow, and her right arm is a clearly a golem-graft replacement. Her expression is one of tired irritation, well armored in frown lines and low-expectations.
"Shelby, don't smoke around Locke. Locke, don't bring up protocol with Shelby. As for the rest of you lot..."
Randal Mixon (Yottawhat)
The captain's gaze falls on you first. It almost softens, as though you're somehow the least disappointing thing she's seen all day.
"I am Captain Sihn. I've heard good things about you. Be sharp for duty and show me what those crows and eagles mean and we'll get along just fine. You're dismissed. Feel free to set up your things in your room and mingle. We'll launch soon, and everyone will be strapped in for our first jump." She gives you a sharp nod before moving on to your companions.
Shelby, however, looks at you with a dubious expression.
"So, uh, if you're hot shit, why did you bring a mop and a bucket as your only personal items?"Health: No News is Good NewsNoteworthy Items Elementalist Wizard CoatMopBucket
Eiyal (Harry)
Captain Sihn looks at you with a familiar expression of contempt mixed with utter disappointment.
"Don't mess anything up anymore than you absolutely have to. We're SNAFU enough as it is without seat fillers making it worse for everyone."A moment before she moves on to one of your companions, she pauses.
"Pull your weight and I'll treat you well. Fail as spectacularly as your record indicates you will, and I'll leave you behind. Regardless, you too are dismissed."Health: No News is Good NewsNoteworthy Items Sword-Mage Wizard CoatPulwar
Farris Kindlestone (Coolrune)
Captain Sihn moves on from Eiyal to peer at you. Her one eye squints at you. Then she looks back at Eiyal. Then she squints at you again. After a long moment of consideration she gives a barely visible shrug.
"Your class records indicate you're slow. We don't have enough people for anyone to be running behind on this ship-""Arboretum""-whatever, so do what it takes to keep the pace. Other than that, I've seen worse. Don't disappoint me. Get yourself situated, talk if you have time, but you will be in your jump seat and belted in when Shelby takes us out."Health: No News is Good NewsNoteworthy Items Enchanter Wizard CoatCopy Of: 'You and Enhancement Enchantment'Umbrella
IrneusCaptain Sihn stares at you with a calculating expression.
"Mr. Irneus. You and I are going to have a word in my cabin."You remembered hearing her name when you were at graduation, but now it clicks. Her face was on the newspaper in bandages, after a laboratory accident involving an unstable mana-source (which was later stabilized by the Grand Elementalist, to much hurrah and fanfare in the Thaumatic community) destroyed her laboratory, every lab member not capable of forming a strong enough energy barrier, and most of a city block.
As you recall, the article was heavily critical of how she ran her lab, and the Grand Elementalist himself had laid the blame for the accident squarely on her shoulders.
Health: No News is Good NewsNoteworthy Items Healer Wizard CoatBonesawCooler 
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Topic: Mananauts! | Wizardly Away Team | [4/4 Players] | The Streets of Tucson (Read 12977 times)