On your side of the coast, it's always said the closer to the "center" you get, the less likely you'll ever make it back. Mana Storms, sea monsters, ghost ships, and pirates tend to make that area particularly risky. There's word that the center of the ocean has an isle untouched by any civilization for years, but most take these as simply tales for the foolish, since most seasoned sailors assure that the only thing around there are sunken boats. Which itself could be quite a bounty if you know how to get to them.

I'll keep that in mind.

Edit: Also, what are Mana Storms?

You know the wild magic surge? Pretty much that but as a weather effect. For every minute you're in a Mana Storm, I roll a 1d20. If it's a 1, you get hit by a random effect off the table. Other things might get hit too. Fortunately it's all in the ocean, but the few times a Mana Storm goes onto land oh boy, it is a calamity.

You know the wild magic surge? Pretty much that but as a weather effect.

If that's the case, then braving a mana storm could be either utterly terrifying or absolutely hilarious depending on the current mood of the dice gods. Part of me wants to sail into one, part of me wants to avoid them at all costs, and part of me wants a reason to visit the sewers of Gransys and rap battle a beholder.

Braving a Mana Storm is actually something of a rite of passage for many sailors. Those who certifiably survive at least a seven day voyage (And when you're in mana storm territory, surviving one day is a notable accomplishment) through the center of the ocean are often visited by strange ocean folk who would inscribe magic tattoos on them. Of course this is mainly just a rumor, and a lot of people have made fake tattoos as well. It's a tattoo across the forehead in the shape of a sea of clouds.

And you don't have to go to Gransys to rap a beholder. Dude's a beholder. He's got magic out the wazoo.

Braving a Mana Storm is actually something of a rite of passage for many sailors. Those who certifiably survive at least a seven day voyage (And when you're in mana storm territory, surviving one day is a notable accomplishment) through the center of the ocean are often visited by strange ocean folk who would inscribe magic tattoos on them. Of course this is mainly just a rumor, and a lot of people have made fake tattoos as well. It's a tattoo across the forehead in the shape of a sea of clouds.

Would hiring a merrenoloth to help with this endeavor be considered cheating?

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And you don't have to go to Gransys to rap a beholder. Dude's a beholder. He's got magic out the wazoo.

So long as I get to meet and subsequently match rhymes with him, I'll be more happy.

Soon the elves would be on the deck for you to question and observe.

Quick question, are any of the elves female?

If you could somehow contact a merrenoloth and gain their aid, it would certainly help. The nature of the mana storms make it difficult for magic to directly do any permanent effects. A sort of proverbial "fighting fire with fire" where you try to fight a fire by fireballing the fire.

And yeah. just gotta go outta your way to find em. It's not hard. Just follow the trail of corpses and blood.

<Snipped quote by Lucius Cypher>

Quick question, are any of the elves female?

Hard to tell with elves due to their softer features, but none of them have a notable bosom and their voices seemed fairly gruff when you heard them muttering among themselves or shout in fright as arrows were being launched at them. Their clothes seem fairly loose and baggy, trousers and tunics.

Was Hector the one who found the key or did he only ask what it was for?

Hector found a key, and when he asked the elves they said there are one key for each chest (There are two chests). One key you guys found, the other key was with the captain, who you guys didn't find.

I just saw that map of Keratia you posted on Blade Maiden's Exploits and now I have two questions. First off, is Keratia flat? The Map makes the world look pretty disc-like. Also, what's up with that dent on the north eastern corner of the map?

Aha, I figured it'd be a matter of time before you'd piece together some stuff from all the 1x1 I'm running. I won't spoil too much, but here's what Talogan will know with a rudimentary education in life.

The world is surrounded by this incredibly dense fog, often on the other side of a large mountain range. This is also why there's a dent in the north east, as the mount range does not form a fully perfect circle.

Secondly, so far no one who has ventured directly into the fog as ever returned. Many heroes have tried, millions of gold spent on expedition, magic equipment, and all sorts of planar and teleportation devices, but once you go into the fog you're never heard from again. most nations have simply chosen to never explore further than the peaks of the mountains for the sake of their own resources.

Lastly, it's generally believed that the world was not always like this. While there's massive debates between scholars, religious figures, scientists, and mages, the collective consensus was that at some point long before their earliest writings, the world was not like this at all. The Mana Storms, which I told you about previously, is widely believed to be connected to the phenomenon that is the world's geography. Astronomers are certain that the sun operates within an orbit, implying that the world is truly round, or at least that the sun revolves around it in a consistent pattern, creating a typical day/night cycle with varying degrees of solstices. And planar travelers have confirmed that they have traveled to other worlds and found that their worlds are round as well, circumventing their globe in a linear journey.

So why is Keratia flat, surrounded by giant mountains surrounded by fog? No one knows. Not yet at any rate.

Out of curiosity, do you remember that game you ran a while back? Ruins of Nurn was its name I think. Was that set in Keratia or was that a different setting?

No and yes. Ruins of Nurn isn't my original creation I just took it form a GM after he flaked. But the Ruins of Nurn are called ruins for a reason, and let's just say that the Mana Storms are there for a reason.

Those who certifiably survive at least a seven day voyage (And when you're in mana storm territory, surviving one day is a notable accomplishment) through the center of the ocean are often visited by strange ocean folk who would inscribe magic tattoos on them. Of course this is mainly just a rumor, and a lot of people have made fake tattoos as well. It's a tattoo across the forehead in the shape of a sea of clouds.

Do the rumors say what magic these tattoos have?

Inconclusive. For some who have them, the magic was the fact they somehow managed to get such an intricate tattoo put on their foreheads without noticing. Others already had magic powers so any additional magic powers from the tattoo isn't noticeable, and again some people have made the journey and never got a visit from the strange ocean folk.

Has Talogan ever been to Red Shard before? If so, what can he expect to find there?

Now that the chest is open, does Talogan see signs of any anti-tampering trickery that the crew was worried about?

Also, does Talogan know anything about sea lions other than what Nyx mentions?

You can see that there are glass vials above the lock now that you can see the inside of the chest. It’s a fairly basic concept: fill these vials with alchemist fire and if the lock is tampered with improperly, the vials break and burn everything inside of the chest. Being made of iron will ensure the chest, even though it’ll get hot, won’t cause the ship to catch on fire. Disabling this will require thieves tools.

As for his knowledge of sea lions you can roll nature. He will at the very least know that yes, they tend to be reserved for nobility as specialized hunting or guard animals.