Ship's Done

Researcher: Dīca Dux
 
 
Research: New floating Hirudinea/Serpentes species
 
 
Report: After returning the "snakes" to the guild I had a chance to do a little study before submittal. They seem to be magical beasts from the plane of water. The water biased creatures display an ability to crystalize and seem to contain similar properties as the Izzet's weirds. When talking to the local regent, I discovered that the Skylorite meteor that the snakes feed on fell only 9 years ago. This would present unprecedented evolutionary speed. An alternative could be that the snakes have some level of intelligence to discover an interaction of their innate abilities.
Potently related, the water from the illusionary lake that made a puddle was celestial in nature.
 
 
Journal: Although difficult, I was able to gather enough local flora to keep the snake sedated until containment. I also had enough extra to give to the guild for recreation and increase of potency for the captured species. I arrived back to town late in the evening for delivery. I disguised the sedated elder as a fashion piece and carried bag of shed skins and deceased samples with me. I was able to carry everything due to their diets making them surprisingly light. I was directed to the back entrance for the delivery and shown to a containment room. The room had magically treated glass that prevents transfer via painful means if attempted. I handed in the other samples and sedatives and start the laborious process of a holo recording and paperwork filing.
 
Awhile later I made my way back to the tavern to see Lord Sordaze dragging something leaving a bloody trail. On closer inspection he was putting a dire bear's carcass out into a dressing shed. I found the others I had shared the expedition with in their usual spot with Kar'El and Snowball deep into their alcohol again. I held a delightful conversation with An-Core and Ravash about theories to the snakes. They even though that the could be like ants since the youth seem to be self sacrificial. It would make me think of other type 3 organisms from the survivorship curves much like frogs. They also offered me a weird liquid as a drink. I went to dip my finger into it to get a taste only to have the liquid react and try to avoid my touch. I immediately started to study it only to have someone drip a bit of water into the glass. The liquid reacted quite violently, but being suspicious I was able to use my tentacle to flip the cup and catch the sample before returning it to my hand and coiling the appendage back up stunning the others. I found it was a violently hydrophobic mix of some sort of plant from the shadow plane. I could likely find something about it in the guild archive. It wasn't alive and not a creature but still concerning to consume. For the sake of discover I drank it and had some noticeable effects. My skin very quickly darkened as an uncomfortable feeling settled in my stomach and spread throughout my body. The drink tasted great much like blueberries, but felt awful even going so far as to loose all feeling in my tentacles. By the time that I put my instruments away Kar'EL had 3 additional empty pints around him and 3 more still full. I decided to snatch one to not let it waste or waste the birdfolk.
More chatter was had and about half an hour till midnight Lord Sordaze came back into the tavern with one of his daughters, a 3 tailed kitsune. Both covered in blood and one carrying a pelt. An-Core and Ravash talked to him being concerned about the blood and related things as well as a bit about the meteor and the mine we were just at. He made tell of needing to go to a local artificer to repair his arm sometime. An Izzet shop known as Cogwire. To remember such a place for Kar'El the artificer, I wrote it on his forehead with the ink ability I have. No one except him would notice it for a bit until the invisibility wore off. At this point I found that my adaptive appendages unresponsive and tucked them into my waist for the time. It felt much like sleeping on a limb all night. An-Core talked about how similar the Izzet and Simic were and I had to correct citing our study of nature to modify nature to perfect nature. Verses the frankly dangerous magical contraptions the Izzet turn out and how the Boros tolerates them but not us. An-Core also asked about what I had found about their "water" in of which I told him it wasn't water exactly, but it was magical in nature. I also told of the microbial anomalies and lack of genetic material related to jellyfish.
 
The next morning was an uneventful mix of usual activities and my early morning visit to the guild for more work. As much as I love the discovery in this guild the bureaucracy is ridiculous sometimes. Zanna came back to inform us that the ship was built and awaiting us with Carame on board. He took me to the side to tell me that the ship developed an unexpected phenomena, that the ship was haunted. The shadow wood deck hybridized with the living wood hull to create some sentience. It seems to be cooperative, curious, and young in nature. We were told that the entity was friendly as we sent out to go investigate.
We arrived at the drydock to see Carame already onboard and working. The ship itself seems normal enough with the only strange thing being that the deck always has a light shadow to it. A gargoyle figurehead adorned the fron of the 80ft boat with a hull made of self repairing living wood, a deck made of invader repelling shadow wood, and sails that were enchanted to always have favorable winds. When I stepped onto the boat I felt a chill when I first touched it and a presence somewhere around me. Carame greeted us with our new crewmates, 3 Aarakocra, a Goblin, an Okami, and one individual fully wrapped head to toe in various cloths. Zanna made mention of Zadula which he explained is the entity's name. We talked a bit and decided to get the ship out the dry dock and into the bay to avoid fees for storage. Since we'd be out anyway it was a good time to deliver the cargo for my guild. I asked Zanna for more sedative's for the delivery of the Whalewolf. I wanted it to go smoothly to prove to the rest of this group that Simic are good at what we do. Zanna mentioned something about a mate for the creature that has me a little worried, but given the alpha status I suppose it would happen. Zanna showeed us a special development of the ship and caused it and everything on it to turn invisible momentarily. This would help immensely for travels and avoidances. when the ship reappears a shadowy entity was on the deck.