Osvald looks up from his Tea Ceremony with Niddy: "Will do sir!
Should you turn in battle and be forced to flee- never fear, we shall already be doing the advanced Recon in that direction! 
"
There’s no Temple here, but there is a local priest. He is, however, short on facts. Keyhole Cove is near the eastern end of the island, not too hard to recognise, but no-one has been there recently. The fishing always used to be good, but the last fisherman to have been seen heading in that direction did not return despite pleasant enough weather, and this is surprising because it is reasonably certain that no-one would have put ashore at the Cove.
With Sorely’s able assistance you manage to find someone who is prepared to show you the way by sea, but he insists on bringing his own boat and turning back at a time of his choosing.
As usual, you are able to cover your running expenses with a spot of trading - a ship with some goods for sale makes a temporary stir in this quiet backwater, although you pick up nothing more exciting than an assortment of tat to sell on at a later date; in Bjarni’s experienced opinion, you’re making a small but steady profit.
Are we going to get some tit for that tat?
“If people disapear when go on land we need to be with good care. . . Maybe we watch for nonlive baddies for a day and night before get on land.” Jorund looks quite tired after this monumental effort of planning.
Vikings are proverbial for their improvisational skills in that department
Ulf reminds the party that the Magician’s notes suggested there would be ‘the dead that walk and worse creatures besides’ at Keyhole Cove.
He suggests a front line of Bjarni in the middle, flanked by Ulf and Jorund, with the casters behind them.
Osvald shall load up:
Spells Loaded:
0) Flare x2, Read Magic, Detect Magic x2
- Colour Spray x2 , Magic Missile x2
- Mirror Image, Flaming Sphere, Pyrotechnics
For the Journey, and he’ll be keeping Niddy within the folds/pockets of his sleeves if there is trouble.
I have Detect Evil as well, but I think it’s a level 3 spell, and I don’t really want to sub out my more… explosive spells for that one. Though I’m not quite sure what Pyrotechnics will do, but hopefully it’ll be fun.
Anyone with any experience want to chime in with advice??
Oh, by all means. I think we’ll know Evil when we see it.
O: 4x Cure Minor Wounds, 1x Detect Magic
1: 4x Cure Light Wounds, 1x Bless
2: 1x Find Traps, 1x Chant, 2x Hold Person, 1x Spiritual Weapon
3: 2x Cure Moderate Wounds
I may be out of touch for two or three days while traveling to my summer internship (Hello, sunny and exotic Fargo, ND!), but then again, free wireless may pop up. If I’m not here, play Ivar in character for me.
Might have a few spotty days myself. Moving and taking care of my mom after shoulder surgery plus running a business all at the same time. Ack.
Sorely: “Jorund these creatures we meet will surely understand your best method of communication when it is needed.” Sorely will laugh after this," Our guide will be taking us by sea but when we know there location we can but land if needed. Or, swim. Not that I really like swimming. Really who wants to be in that water? I have heard of many adventuring careers cut short by our grand oceans."
In Combat:
Sorely will be prepared to Grease the ground beneath any mean looking non humanoid. Otherwise its Charm Person or Hypnotic Pattern for groups. Before either Inspire if I have time. I will save the Horn to use if there seems to be too many to handle easily.
Otherwise, Sorely will attempt to talk to any people we meet who aren’t violent. Gooo Charmisma!
My Spell list doesn’t change: For Reference
1st-level spells 4/day:
Charm Person
Feather Fall
Grease
Sleep
2nd-level spells 2/day
Glitterdust
Hypnotic Pattern
[COLOR=Blue]Pyrotechnics needs a fire of some sort to work.
The caster (who has a range of 160) can use the fire to create either:
- fireworks which blinds everyone within 120 (and line of sight) for a few seconds
- smoke which blocks vision for a few rounds
Ulf is not sure how useful this is (e.g. no fire, no spell)…
Detect Evil is usually a 2nd level MU spell, which spots things in a 10 foot wide path ahead, up to 120 away.
It’s also usually a 1st level Priest spell, but they prefer Curing.
Ulf thinks this is a better bet than Pyrotechnics (for example searching somewhere for Evil)…
N.B. All ranges are yards out-of-doors, feet indoors.[/COLOR]
Excellent spells - and you can affect the Undead too!
I am away for the weekend myself as I am … err … playing face-to-face D+D. 
Hope all goes well with your Mum.
Ulf agrees that Jorund certainly knows how to ‘make his point’. He adds that in combat, if Jorund is berserk, it is advisable to keep at least 10 feet away from him (as Jorund has a special ability 
to blat that area).
Since some of us wear metal armour, swimming is certainly not an option. Even though he wears no armour, Ulf prefers a boat or dry land under his feet.
Ulf comments that these spells are fine by him.
Sleep (followed by Charm Person) is the most powerful.
Ulf assumes Glitterdust reveals Invisible creatures and notes that we can also be affected by Hypnotic Pattern if we are facing it.
Undead are not affected by Sleep or Charm.
“Me no make point, point bad that why me use hammer.” Jorund pats one of his hammers, “But is Sorely want me talk to what we meet . . . Me good at talk and baddies speak me good.” Jorund grins at the though of being the official group communicator.
Yes, and may temporarily blind [color=blue]dusted creatures too.[/color]
In principle true, but if you are forewarned by your friendly caster I’ll assume you save on a rolled 2. Enemy illusionists get the same advantage.
Quite correct.
Sorely prefers to be charming (And HD restrictions make me want to meta game too much). Sorely “Well it seems with our guide in tow we can investigate this… Osvald is he an ex-wizard or an ex-owlbear? Again these wizardly pursuits are just confusing. Give me the confidence of the Gods Grace for what I do. Mother always said the gods wanted more pretty voices in Valhalla so our rewards were just so in life.” Sorely will look momentarily worried. “Truly though, Ivar what clues do we have as to what might guard these treasures? Men who are between life and the grave? Will my arrows be of affect?”
So the idea is to land before we get to the actual cove and go over land towards the cove area. We mighty band feel no need to get more wet than needed. The thralls and the extra 4 can watch the boat while we go on towards adventure?
Grease you say? Is that… :cough: Flammable? If so, you may become Osvald’s new friend…
Heh, Where I go, I don’t need a source of Fire…
My giant rolling ball of Flame SHOULD do the trick, and maybe I could create a Giant Rolling Ball of Fireworks Or a Giant Flaming Ball of Smokey Flames.
That, and I always carry around a equipment to serve tea- you’ve got to have a WAY to HEAT the tea, you know? So fires aren’t really a problem in that area of things.
Osvald does talk to Niddy via his thoughts: Say, can YOU make flames? Or anything nifty that I should keep in mind while you’re around me? Anything I need to be careful of while you’re in my pockets? Oh, and is it comfortable there? I did leave some seeds and dried Tea on the left sleeve if you get hungry again.
“I’m not Dead yet! I’m still quite a Wizard through and through! Born a Man, totally did not experiment with that amulet! Oh, you probably mean the other fellow- Well, hmm… erm. Let me see.” Osvald quickly asks Niddy what he knows about the Old Wizard- that nasty unfriendly brute!-
“I believe though, he was a Wizard of some sort, and not just an Owlbear turned into a Man, but let me see if I have any more details…”
Feel free to fill us in, as I’ll relay Niddy’s thoughts to the party, Mal
[color=blue]Flaming Sphere will do fine as a fire source for Pyrotechnics, it will itself be extinguished as a side-effect. And of course in any combustible environment FS can start fires all by itself - which, again, the other spell will put out, subject to size limitations. Grease will burn, but all you get is a smoky smell and some soot - it is too thin a layer to be an effective fuel. It’s about as easy to light as a layer of butter, i.e., not very, though any magical fire will burn it off as a side-effect.[/color]
It’s a bit cramped in here. I think I’ll come back out and stay out. I feel safer if I can move around a bit. No, I don’t make flames. Why would I want to? I’d burn my mouth. My tail is a perfectly good weapon.
Nidhogg is about the size of a well-fed house cat - too big to be comfortable even in a wizard’s pocket, especially when he gets the fidgets. Of course he would not deliberately sting a friend…
My old friend was just a wizard until he found that amulet. Please, it’s upsetting to talk about him. 
Nidhogg is not officially a “familiar” yet - the spell links the two together as well as summoning the creature, and you haven’t done that. So you don’t get the “official” familiar benefits at the moment; you do, however, have a small intelligent mobile creature that is highly adept at concealment and can communicate telepathically with you, or with any of your friends if he has to, though he prefers you.
You succeed in securing a guide, Aelfric, a fisherman, who knows the coast well within a few miles either side of the cursed Cove. Most ships would be ill-suited to a beach landing but of course that is one strength of the Viking longships of all sizes, and Black Snake is no exception. So you manage to beach her, off-load yourselves and your gear, and are free to decide whether you want to leave your two loyal henchmen to supervise the thralls or take them with you, and whether you want to leave the Snake beached or have her stand out to sea.
Aelfric tells you that you will still have about a five-mile trek over some brush-grown country before you reach the Cove.
“It be good thing to have guards for little spell sayers. . . Five miles not far we make before sun go down. . . Remember Sorely say me talk to baddies, right Bjarni?” Jorund pulls out his silver and cold iron hammer.
Sorely is just fine with 5 miles of walking. “Truly I enjoy being out of a boat. Being cold, wet and stuffed in like sardines has never worked out well for me. Jorund we will have many… opportunities for conversation with others I’m sure. You and Ulf speak eloquent in the dance of steel and… Well I ken its sometimes paw with you Ulf.” Sorely will finish with his voice breaking.
Sorely will do his best to get directions towards the cove, which he is sure involves a lot of following the coast, walking, and mentally trying to figure out how this starts a ballad.