In reply to Hairy (msg # 156):

Not thrilled at the prospect of being nowhere near solid land (or fire) for the night, she looks up "I'd like to go into town and maybe see the place.  I could use a drink too"

"It's Portuguese, not Spanish," Caduceus corrected Hairy. "And yeah, I speak it. Probably not a bad idea to call it Spanish though. It'll make you seem that much more of a tourist."

Caduceus rubbed his hands together eagerly while looking around at the surrounding landscape. "If you guys think you can watch the scientists for a while, I would love to take this opportunity to browse the wilderness nearby. Maybe collect some shamanic supplies. I could take one or two of our charges with me, I suppose. Some of them might want to check out the forest too. I'll make sure to wear my subvocal mic in case anything comes up."

The notion of alcohol - or anything - to help replenish the sweat that has already soaked your vibrant shirts was most appealing.  And the thought of something cool was even more inspirational.  Dr. Saunders was definitely on board and even Dr. Fukuhara seemed like he might join the group.

As you gathered up what you might need for an evening out on the down,  Dr. Al-Mansour burst from below decks, his arms laden with sat-maps and all kinds of charts. "I found a place!  Only a few klicks from here," he said, showing the only emotion you'd seen on his face for the entire trip. "And we can walk there!"

He plopped the charts down on the deck and started pointing excitedly, talking about moisture gradients, temperature profiles, nutrient densities and a bunch of other gobbledy-gook that didn't make a whole lot of sense to any of you - but which soon had the scientists looking like someone had just offered to be their date for prom.

After asking a few questions, Dr. Fukuhara stood up and gestured to the runners.  "Shore leave's cancelled.  There's a promising site less than an hour's walk from here.  If it pans out, we can head back up river and all be home tomorrow."

Al-mansour nodded happily.  "I know we'll find them there.  I know it!"

Bicho leaned against the wheelhouse and spit over the side of the boat.  "You're idiots."

The statement was all-inclusive, but he was glaring at Al-Mansour as he said it.  "It's going to take you at least two hours to get there and the same to get back.  Add on the time you spend humping trees, it'll be well past dark by the time you get out.  Plus what do I do if one of the guards comes back.  I might convince him that one of you got eaten by a river python, but not all of you..."

The thought of a giant snake didn't make a dent in the scientists' fervor.  "We're going.  Grab your gear"

Bicho turned his gaze to the runners, waiting to see what you would decide.

EDIT: fixed colors
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:06, Fri 24 May 2019.

"So you hear two terms, 'giant snake' and 'at least two hours' to get there and back, but you make a decision to ignore the warnings of the guide you hired our of fervor?" Duck scratches the days' worth of white stubble that's peaking out from his face. He looks to Bicho, spiking his cigarette over the side of the boat.

"Uh, sorry, no, you're not going. We were hired to keep you safe, and since you were so eager to ensure that I stick to my role, Dr. Fukuhara, that's going to include keeping you safe from your own hubris. Congrats, you're staying, in the interest of your own safety, and I'm now going to notify your boss about the persistent ignorance of security protocols in pursuit of your agenda." Duck cracks the knuckles on one hand and stands between the group of scientists gearing up and the docks.

"If it's there now, it'll be there tomorrow, and we'll be able to safely extract it and be home just a few hours later. Unless you come up with a damned good reason for this urgency, doc, and explain it to me, I'm going to knock anyone who tries to disembark this boat and go traipsing into the jungle in the middle of the night the fuck out in the interests of doing the job I was hired to do and protecting you from your own foolhardiness. So, you're gonna sit tight." Duck takes out his pack of cigarettes, grabbing four of them, fanning them out in a hand, and he waits for the expected protest.

In reply to White Duck (msg # 160):

Kate takes a cigarette.  "Kill joy"

Dr. Fukuhara pulls himself up to his full height - which is still a good four inches shorter than White Duck.  That said, he manages to look imposing.

"You seem to be somewhat confused as to who's in charge here.  You were hired to protect us while we complete our objectives.  We cannot complete our objectives from the boat.  We have a candidate site.  It must be reached by foot.  All of our candidate sites must be reached by foot.  So, like it or not, you're coming into the jungle."

"The border guards expect us to be departing at daybreak, particularly given the fuss our captain made about not being able to depart.  They will be suspicious if we stay - correct?"

He looks over at Bicho who slowly nods, though he doesn't look happy about it.

"We're not going to skip checking a promising site, especially when it could save us days of time.  Furthermore, the border patrol is going to be distracted by the game, which should make it easier to leave with our equipment now and come back with specimens than it would be if we were to do it tomorrow.  If you want to get paid - or even want a flight home, go get your gear.  The sooner we leave, the more daylight we have.  As I understand it, the game starts in 10 minutes.  I want us headed to the trail in 15."

Bicho shrugged.  "Your funeral.  I'm staying with the boat.  If someone comes to check, I'll try to convince them you went to bed early so you're ready to go tomorrow."

You can make a negotiation or leadership roll if you like, but it's going to take a lot of convincing to keep this trio from marching into the jungle - and it's your pay-check if you don't go with them...

“I told you the terms, Doctor, and this is the second time you’ve decided to ignore the warnings of your security team. If you wanted a team to blindly follow your orders regardless of risk, you should have gone with in-house assets and not hired a contractor. As it stands, you don’t get to re-dictate or interpret the terms of my contract as it suits you. Seeing how you’ve not even arranged to get our team back safely to begin with, you don’t have a vested interest in the lives of me and my crew to begin with, and seeing as you are willing to lead your own team into an extremely hazardous situation because your own cost/benefit analysis sees a not-fully-investigated shortcut as worth risking the lives of eight other people, YOU are the biggest threat to your own team’s safety in this mission. I am concerned about the lives of your team though. Concerned enough to give up my payday and lay you out right here on the deck.”
He points to the jungle.

“Giant snakes don’t recognize your education, your corporate clout, anybody’s payday, or who has authority over whom. I’m not asking you right now, I’m *telling* you. Stand down. You have the option to pursue this site in a situation that isn’t extremely hazardous, and you’re putting everyone’s lives at risk instead. I’m not going to allow you or any members of your team off this boat, and I *will* knock your ass out and throw you belowdecks.” He doesn’t break eye contact with the doctor, and expectantly waits for the doctor to ignore him and attempt to proceed.

Will roll whatever I need to in order to get him to listen. Just give me a TN.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:06, Thu 23 May 2019.

Based on your approach, sounds like an intimidation roll is in order.  It's an open test, so no TN.

Dr. Fukuhama stood there for a moment as his face quivered in rage.  His hands squeezed into fists and he managed to bite back whatever response he was going to give.  Instead, he stalked away and yanked out his phone.  It took him three tries to get a connection - whether that was because he was too angry to hit the right buttons or because the service there was too lousy to make a link wasn't completely clear.

Once connected, he let loose with a stream of angry Japanese, only quieting down when a guard stepped out of the military building to see what the commotion was about.  While few of you were that conversant with Japanese, everyone on the team had seen enough trid shows to pick out a few choice curse words.  White Duck was able to follow more of the conversation, though the professor was speaking so quickly that it was hard to catch everything.  "Incompetent", "Useless", "Arrogant" and a few other adjectives were clear enough though.

Finally finished, the professor paused and listened, nodding a few times before stalking back and thrusting his phone out at White Duck triumphantly.

"Someone would like to talk to you."

It was, of course, Mr. Johnson.

Rather than dishing out the expected brow-beating, the team's employer seemed relatively calm.  "I understand there's an issue with the completion of our contract?"

Duck nods and takes the phone calmly.

"No issue with the terms of the contract, but your science team lead seems to have a habit of trying to be everyone's boss, and is not at all keen on allowing us to do *our* job and keep he and his team safe. He wants to take his team off into the jungle, right now, with little to no prep aside from 'grab your things, let's go'. The guide you've hired insists that it's stupidly dangerous to leave in the middle of the night to investigate a potential site, and I'm inclined to agree with the one person on this expedition who is familiar with the terrain and more knowledgeable than all of us about any potential dangers it holds. My team isn't a group of jungle commando-types, we're from the sprawl, just like your science team, presumably." he smiles to Fukuhara politely, then turns away and walks to the bow of the boat for a bit of conversational privacy.

"I understand that we're already on a dangerous assignment of questionable legality, that we're already going to take risks, but assuming you want your personnel back alive, it's my job to negate those risks when possible and to minimize them when they inevitably occur. We are just trying to do our jobs. Dr. Fukuhara has suggested we go unprepared, in the middle of the night, into a jungle that none of us are familiar with, as opposed to heeding our guide's advice and waiting a few hours for it to be exponentially safer to do so, simply in the interests of coming home earlier. Even if your project is a time-sensitive one, if your whole team dies in the jungle, your project won't be completed, those of us that survive won't get paid, and you'll have to end up sending an entirely different team of scientists down here, which is invariably going to cost you a lot more than a few hours of daylight."

He takes a drag of his cigarette, turning to keep an eye on the scientists so they don't bolt.

"I know this is unfortunate to hear, but the risk is severe enough here to make me willing to forego my payday in order to keep my team alive. I didn't sign up to take directions from someone who is clearly inexperienced in leading anyone but his peers, and it's disheartening, to say the least, to realize that he apparently has the survival instincts of a lemming. Someone not intent on letting us do our jobs and keep your personnel secure, your package delivered in-tact, or heeding any and all warnings simply for the sake of shaving a few hours off of the trip. I had to threaten to detain him, quite simply because I don't want anyone to die out here. There a few less risk-averse options I can present to you that would accomplish your goals in a succinct manner, if you're open to hear them, and I'm mutually open to suggestions, if you've got them, but I'm going to need a *damned* good reason to put my team and yours in an extremely unnecessary and risky situation. I sincerely apologize for the inconvenience, but if the good doctor is foolhardy enough to skip rope under a helicopter because he likes the breeze, I'm not gonna tell my people to jump just because he said so."

The other line was quiet for a good minute.

"I see.  Well...  "

He spoke quietly

"Am I speaking to you alone right now?"

After White Duck responded in the affirmative, he continued.

"Good.

First, be aware that there is a degree of time pressure on our end.  Taking an inordinate amount of time to mitigate every possible risk will not meet my objectives.  You have approximately 6 days - including travel time.  I will leave it to your discretion as to how best to best mitigate the risks within the timeline available."

"Second, one of your risks is that you have severely insulted my lead scientist, who is not going to handle this loss of face well.  I suggest that you begin to look suitably chastened.  And perhaps move the phone a bit away from your ear."

"YOU WILL **NOT** PHYSICALLY THREATEN MY STAFF AGAIN!!  DO YOU UNDERSTAND??"

The entire group had no issues overhearing that bit...

"Now please pass the phone back to Dr. Fukuhama and I will explain the order of command."

White Duck passed back the phone to the professor who accepted it with a broad grin.  The grin gradually shrank and became more forced as he continued to listen.  After a few minutes he closed his phone.  He paused a few moments before addressing his fellow scientists.

"Given the time this has consumed, and to ensure we have maximum light to examine the specimens, we will defer our search of the candidate location until tomorrow."

Turning to White Duck and the other runners.  "I thank our contractors for their concern for our safety.".  It wasn't the most genuine apology you'd ever heard, but it was certainly more than you'd expected.

"And now, I think I shall rest for a few hours to better prepare for our excursion tomorrow"  He headed below without giving anyone a chance to say anything further.

Bicho eased himself up from his lounging position and gave White Duck a nod of respect.  He headed towards the wheelhouse, pausing to slap Dr. Al-Mansour on the back.  "Better luck next time, eh 'Sour?"

The scientist's moth, which had hanging open at the sudden reversal of Fukuhama's position, closed and tightened into a scowl that was even fiercerthan usual.  He gathered up his charts and stomped down the stairs, slamming the door of his cabin.

Dr. Sanders leaned awkwardly against the railing and tapped his fingers against the wood, looking from one runner to another.

"So, ah... drinks?"


3 karma for everyone.  +1 for White Duck for messing up my plans in an interesting way.  Let me know who's going drinking with Sanders, who's staying on the boat to watch the other two scientists, and who's going with Caduceus to wander in the jungle (if you still plan to?  It might be best not to let the scientists know where you're headed if you do...)

I'll try to start the new thread on Monday.

Duck makes a decent showing of bowing apologetically before Fukuhara retreats, then resumes his normal posture, earnestly relieved the doctor called his boss. He hopped off from the boat and offered assistance to any disembarking.

"No drinks for me. Something tells me they don't have pina coladas here. I'll tag along to make sure you folks don't piss off any locals without backup though." he smirks to Cadeuces, then heads over.

"Troubling flight, but I managed to land her safely. Can you ask your friends to watch over any personnel staying on the boat and alert us if anyone tries to bolt?" he asks with a sigh. His hands were shaking a bit in what his fellow runner could easily identify as contained anger, tinged with a bit of anxiety.

"Hated having to do that, but pissing off personnel is a hell of a lot better than having deceased personnel."

"Agreed," Caduceus said. "I will stay here to monitor the situation. I will be sure to keep anyone from slipping away unexpectedly, and send a spirit to fetch you if they do. If you hear a wind spirit howling over the town, come back."

Kate can't for a minute believe any part of this is going to go well, considering the "confusion" so far.  So, seeing as some are leaving the boat, she's going to go with them for drinks to make sure that when things go badly, they have some firepower.

The fact that she's on a boat surrounded by water is totally not the point... really...

"I'm up for a drink and I don't mean river water.  Who all is coming?"

"Drinks. When Fukihama shoots Duck in the back, I want to be drunk enough to enjoy it."

The back and forth is, well, definitely interesting. Where he comes from, they usually just have a knife fight and move on, but these two really seem to enjoy the foreplay.

Caduceus waited for everyone to leave who wasn't planning on staying aboard the boat, then got to work. His sharp mind had been working to formulate a plan where he could guard their "associates" and explore a bit of the wilderness at the same time. After all, he didn't want all of the secret compartments that he worked so hard to procure to go to waste.

Once he was alone on the boat, Caduceus inhaled a deep breath of the fresh clean air. He reached out into the sky, drawing on the purity of the environment around him. When he exhaled, a wind spirit coalesced before him, taking on the guise of a few dry leaves and flower petals tumbling in the wind. "Thank you for coming," Caduceus said with a smile. "Please watch this boat and its passengers. If anyone other than myself tries to enter or exit the boat, come and tell me. To the people leaving, other than myself, do your best to slow their Movement." Once the spirit was clear on its tasks, Caduceus made an effort to conjure it a buddy.

Once another spirit appeared, this one more like a cloud of butterflies, Caduceus greeted it similarly before giving it instructions. "I want you to watch for people entering or exiting this boat too. If the person isn't me, Confuse them. Then go fly over the town and let create the loudest howl of wind you can muster without destroying anything. My friends should come running back here once you do." When it seemed the wind spirit grasped Caduceus's intent, he focused on the next phase of his plan.

Caduceus found a nice quite place aboard the boat where he felt he wouldn't be disturbed for a few moments. He lay down and took a napping position, then left his body for a jaunt into astral space.

His first stop was to go check on the two researchers. He wanted to make sure they weren't planning on venturing out on their own in the near future. He also scanned their auras for any glaring hints of deception or defiance he might need to worry about. After that, the shaman set out to go investigate the river and shorelines for any promising locations to find shamanic supplies. He was on the search for items or areas with particularly pure auras, even among this paradise of purity. He could cover ground faster in his astral form, and was also invisible unawakened human eyes.

After scanning the nearby area, Caduceus returned to the boat. He skimmed the buildings near the shore first though to check for anyone who might have eyes on their boat. He then checked on the researchers belowdecks one more time, just in case, then returned to his body and woke up.

After changing into a shirt that was not bright neon and discarding any excess gear, Caduceus double checked that his snake-tooth talisman necklace was still secure around his neck, then cast Levitate upon himself. As his feet lifted ever so slightly off of the boat, Caduceus relished in the sensation. It was not the first time he had made himself levitate, but normally it required a great deal of his concentration. But with his new totem, he could focus on other things. Like conjuring another spirit.

He made sure his knife, binoculars, and empty toolbox were secure before reaching out spiritually to contact a new river spirit. The shaman floated over the side of the boat away from shore and touched the tip of his toe into the water beyond. He sent out a ripple, beckoning an untasked river spirit to heed his call.

When what he could only describe as a Swamp Thing lookalike appeared in the water below, Caduceus said to it, "I am going to be traveling your shores and would appreciate it if you could Guard me to help keep me safe. I would like to remain discrete as well, so any Concealment you could assist me with would be appreciated too. If there is anything else you can do for me, I will let you know later." Caduceus then set out toward the nearest site he had visited earlier, making sure to keep low above the water and out of sight of any onlookers if possible. He hoped the game would keep most people busy until sundown, when Caduceus hoped to be back. But if he needed to pass by any crowds, he had another spell or two he could still employ.

---

People on the boat should still be Guarded by the river spirit Caduceus Conjured earlier, so I am not worried about assigning a spirit to that. There should also still be a river spirit helping to Conceal their hidden supplies.

Conjure Force 3 Wind Spirit.
10:32, Today: Caduceus rolled 2 successes using 4d6 with the Shadowrun system with a target of 3 with rolls of 1,2,3,5.  Conjure Force 3 Wind Spirit.
Two services, used. "Let me know if anyone tries to enter/exit," and Movement on anyone leaving to slow them down.

Drain Test.
10:34, Today: Caduceus rolled 6 successes using 8d6 with the Shadowrun system with a target of 3 with rolls of 3,3,3,(6+4)10,1,4,1,3.  Drain test.
No drain.

Conjure Force 3 Wind Spirit, again.
10:42, Today: Caduceus rolled 2 successes using 4d6 with the Shadowrun system with a target of 3 with rolls of 1,1,3,(6+1)7.  Conjure Force 3 Wind Spirit.
Two services, used. Confusion, send howl over town to signal others.

Drain test.
10:49, Today: Caduceus rolled 4 successes using 8d6 with the Shadowrun system with a target of 3 with rolls of 2,2,5,(6+6+1)13,4,5,1,2.  Drain test.
No drain.

Astral perception to see what you can find that's potentially useful in range.
11:09, Today: Caduceus rolled 1 success using 6d6 with the Shadowrun system with a target of 4 with rolls of (6+3)9,3,3,3,3,2.  Assensing.

Assensing complimentary skill.
11:11, Today: Caduceus rolled 2 successes using 5d6 with the Shadowrun system with a target of 4 with rolls of 3,3,1,5,4.  Aura Reading (Auras) - complimentary skill.

Cast Force 2 Levitate upon himself using his Sustaining Spell Focus 2. Saving all 6 Spell Pool dice for drain roll.
15:24, Today: Caduceus rolled 2 successes using 6d6 with the Shadowrun system with a target of 4 with rolls of 4,2,2,3,(6+3)9,3.  Cast Force 2 Levitate on self.
Two successes means max speed of 14. He can levitate 220 pounds/100kg (or more?), which equals Caduceus + a decent amount of other stuff he might grab.

Drain test.
15:30, Today: Caduceus rolled 5 successes using 12d6 with the Shadowrun system with a target of 4 with rolls of (6+3)9,3,1,5,4,2,1,4,1,3,(6+6+5)17,2.  Drain test - Force 2+2 medium.
Five successes should mean the medium drain is reduced to no drain.

Conjuring a Force 3 River Spirit.
15:39, Today: Caduceus rolled 3 successes using 5d6 with the Shadowrun system with a target of 3 with rolls of 2,5,(6+6+1)13,1,5.  Conjuring a Force 3 River Spirit.
Three services, two used.

Drain Test.
15:41, Today: Caduceus rolled 7 successes using 7d6 with the Shadowrun system with a target of 3 with rolls of 3,4,5,3,(6+1)7,3,(6+4)10.  Drain test.
No Drain.

Here is a mundane Stealth roll for Caduceus trying to hover out of sight discretely. I should note that he is not planning to cross the boarder, and he wants to be back at the boat before sundown, when all his conjured spirits will disappear.

15:51, Today: Caduceus rolled 1 success using 3d6 with the Shadowrun system with a target of 4 with rolls of 1,1,5.  Stealth roll, if needed.
Five, not including his spirit's assistance.

White Duck, Kate, Hairy and Dr. Sanders all disembarked and headed into 'town'.  Even if they hadn't spotted the local watering hole from the river, they'd have had no trouble finding the place with the raucous cheers emanating from the building and the adjacent patio.  An old-style 2-D flat-screen was projecting the domain and it appeared that most of the residents - including some who were well below legal age - were gathered to watch the game.

The bar-keep diverted his eyes from the game briefly to take orders but swiveled back to catch the replay as the Amazonian team scored their first goal, sending the volume a good 20 decibels higher.

Whatcha drinkin' and how much ya spendin?  Feel free to elaborate on how the evening goes...

==============================

It was about 2 hours before sundown by the time everyone had either departed or settled down on the boat and Caduceus could begin his preparations.  As before, the summoning went easier than expected and the spirits who arrived were larger than usual.

Dr. Fukuhara was in his bunk nursing a bottle of something or other.  Whatever it was seemed to have taken the edge off his emotions.  He certainly wasn't a happy camper, but it didn't seem likely he was going to be going anywhere.

Dr. Al-mansour was busily pouring over his maps.  His aura was tinged with the red-black of barely concealed rage, some of which looked like it had been there for a while.  It was harder to predict what he was going to do for the remainder of the evening.  However, the wind spirits were flitting back and forth between the rooms often enough that the snake shaman was pretty sure he'd have ample notice if the phytogeographist decided to go for a stroll.

The jungle was vibrant - glowing in a way that made Seattle's most verdant parks look like ashen barrens.  Everything was alive - and growing like crazy.  The background of vital greens and golds made it hard to figure out what was worth exploring.  There were certain plants, flowers and both small and large animals in abundance.  A few of the snakes hissed a greeting and at one point he saw a pair of nagas swaying hypnotically in some sort of mating ritual.

The challenge, of course, was knowing what would have value on the market back home.  Thankfully, Caduceus's magical training was in more than just spell-casting.  He had a fairly deep academic understanding of the magical world as well.
He knew that live specimens - whether critters or plants would require careful treatment and management for them to retain their value between the time of collection to the time of sale - management that could prove difficult to provide, depending on how their search went.  So he instead focused on looking for content with a magical aura that was not itself alive - and thus easier to preserve.

He found what he was looking for after about an hour.  A nest high in the treetops with a pinkish magical tinge that stood out against the green and gold.  A huge nest, in fact - one that the snake shaman could lie in quite comfortably - and which he was thus happy was empty.

In physical form, he sped along the surface of the river, a mist rising up to help conceal his passage and the faint cheers and boos from the village center suggesting there weren't a whole lot of people likely to be looking his way.  It took him about half an hour to get to the tree-top.  Once there he found a number of discarded feathers - 6 in total that were in relatively pristine shape.  They had a golden hew and glowed with magical energy.  He scooped them into a container he'd brought along for the purpose.

By the time he returned to the boat, the sun had set, leaving the pier largely in darkness, which was good as the fans were starting to wander back towards their boats.  Their good spirits suggesting that Amazonia had pulled off a win.  Hopefully that would put the guards in a good mood the next morning.

Once he had the feathers stored, Caduceus took a quick peek in on the scientists.  Al-mansour was still working away.  Dr. Fukuhara had apparently passed out.

You have 6 feathers, worth about ¥6k each provided you find the right buyer and don't do anything to degrade their quality or aura during the remainder of the trip.  Let me know how you're planning to carry/store them.

Also, you can roll to refresh your spirits if you want anything keeping watch overnight as your previous summonings vanished at sundown.

Kate leans back with a beer in one hand and an eye on the crowd.  If they're this pumped up now, they might get completely out of hand if Amazonia loses.

And that's how she's going to spend the evening.  Beer and paranoia.

After returning to the boat, Caduceus put his new finds gently into the briefcase he had brought along. The main compartment. The secret compartment would be much too cramped for the feathers he had found. He would shift them over to the secret compartments in his crates once they returned to the airport. For now the sturdy casing of the briefcase and its number lock would have to keep them protected.

Beaming with barely contained excitement over his find, Caduceus still opted to keep his treasure a secret at least until they were on their way home. For now, the fewer people who knew about his "treasure," the safer it would be. He wondered to himself if these were indeed feathers of the Alicanto that Lord Abyss had mentioned. But then again, what else could they be?

Still overcome by the paradise around him and the bounty that it had to offer, Caduceus set about conjuring some fresh spirits to watch over them throughout the night. A little whirlpool of a spirit appeared, and Caduceus asked it to Guard the boat and its guests, and to Conceal their hidden gear once again.

Then, largely out of curiosity, Caduceus reached out to the spirits of the river once again. He reached deep into the core of his being even as he reached deep into the depths of the river. He called upon the most powerful spirit he dared, merely to see what was here. He knew his attempts wouldn't be without personal cost, but it was an opportunity he did not want to pass up.

Caduceus could feel his joints ache, his muscles bruise, and several veins bulge as he gave his conjuring everything he had. In the end he slumped against the rail of the boat, exhausted.

But a spirit had indeed responded to his call. And it made his jaw drop...

---

Conjure Force 3 River Spirit.
20:39, Today: Caduceus rolled 2 successes using 4d6 with the Shadowrun system with a target of 4 3 with rolls of (6+5)11,4,2,2.  Conjure Force 3 River Spirit.
Two services, used. Guard and Concealment.

Drain test.
20:41, Today: Caduceus rolled 5 successes using 8d6 with the Shadowrun system with a target of 4 with rolls of 4,5,(6+1)7,2,4,1,2,4.  Drain test.
No drain.

Conjure a Force 9 River Spirit.
20:46, Today: Caduceus rolled 1 success using 6d6 with the Shadowrun system with a target of 9 with rolls of (6+3)9,2,4,1,2,3.  Conjure Force 9 River Spirit.
One Service, unused! Sweet!

Drain test.
20:48, Today: Caduceus rolled 1 success using 6d6 with the Shadowrun system with a target of 9 with rolls of (6+3)9,4,2,3,5,(6+1)7.  Drain test.
One success equals serious stun. Hopefully he will have the 6 hours available to recover though. We'll see.

Stun recovery test.
20:55, Today: Caduceus rolled 1 success using 6d6 with the Shadowrun system with a target of 5 with rolls of (6+3)9,3,2,4,4,1.  Stun Recovery Test.
One success means it will take a full six hours.

Actual force = 11.  What's your explanation for summoning it?  ('Your own amusement' might not go over well...)

His reasoning, other than "to see if he can," is to have it available in case of an unforeseen emergency. That, and to bask in its grandeur. Maybe even learn from it in some abstract spiritual way.

Hairy is happy to go for rotgut. His spending is modest, for as long as he's sober. Once the game is going, he'll cheer for whomever is getting cheers, and might give goo-goo eyes to the pretty waitress if she seems like she might have a taste for ork meat.

The game went on for about 3 hours with a great deal of screaming, drinking, booing and ended with intense celebration - more than enough to keep a nice edge on Kate's healthy paranoia.  To Hairy, the game appeared pretty boring.  No weapons.  Not even any armor.  Just a whole lot of skinny dudes running around a grassy field chasing a ball.  But these folks were definitely into it.

White Duck faced a few odd looks when he kept declining drinks, but everyone was too caught up in the game to take any profound offence at his failure to taste the local product.

Kate and Harry did their best to make up for his abstinence.  The local beer was a bit sweet - and definitely potent, though the bartender was willing to pour harder stuff too.

Hairy's hopes for companionship didn't fare as well.  The local women were early clearly taken (whether by marriage or pre-arrangement for the evening) or much too old or young for even Hairy's morals, so he had to settle for drinking - unless he wanted to pursue Kate...

==========

The form that rose up out of the river was almost as wide as the boat was.  The deep eyes of the snake-like face swirled with currents and eddies that called out to Caduceus and threatened to suck him in.  The body itself appeared to meld with the river with water cascading up into and out of the form, occasionally carrying a fish.  The immensity of the form and the power it conveyed, together with the energy he'd expended trying to summon it left the shaman more than a little weak in the knees.

WHAT IS YOUR NEED?

Caduceus turned his nervous knee-shaking into a respectful kneel. "You- humble me," was all he managed to say at first. The shaman knew it was an odd thing to saw, but he was currently overwhelmed with awe. Once his thoughts began to be more coherent again, Caduceus collected himself and said, "My need is one of preparation. The need to plan for the unplanned-for. I wish for you to help me if the need arises, but I hope that the need does not arise." Caduceus could not tell if he was speaking sagely, or still incoherently, but hopefully it did not matter.

"Regardless, I hope that I can glean some wisdom and insights from your presence this night. Thank you for heeding my call."

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I will post in the other thread later today or tomorrow. I didn't want to leave the spirit unanswered in the meantime though.

It doesn't eat you, so I guess that went well... :>