New campaign starts here...
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Dot
It's your second night in Blue Shell... It's been less than 36 hours since you met one another and accepted Ayren offer to join his mission to rescue Lord Richard I.
After saving Lord Richard I, the beloved pet tiger of Lady Elena Wavebraver, you claim your just reward from Kodan, a servant of the mighty Wavebraver family.
You now stand in the small empty warehouse where you were paid. Ayren quickly grabs his share of the reward and leaves, whistling an old sailor's song.
Eitylen looks around for more offered bounties.
There are no job offers in the empty warehouse in the middle of the night.
...Eitylen goes to the inn and ask/look around for more offered bounties.
Cyrus grins at his new found friends.
"An odd quest, but reuniting a woman with her pet still feels like a good deed. Let's celebrate the pay with food and drink back at the Mad Shark."
I wonder if I can do some odd jobs down at the dock to pay Joel regularly for a room.
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"I am jealous. I always wanted a pet tiger as a child."
"I guess getting roaring drunk will have to suffice.."
You move on, making your way back to the Mad Shark... Ayren is already gone. No sign of his presence anywhere in sight.
As you approach the area around the docks, you sense of smell is gradually overwhelmed by the stink of vinegar and rotting fish. There's no visible source for the smell, but you see a few people walking away from the affected area.
"Oh, gods!" a passerby says between coughs "What the hell?!"
His girlfriend speaks with a greenish face, visibly doing her best to hold back the urge to vomit.
"Ugh... I think I'm gonna be sick..."
Not far ahead, you see a couple guards with scarves tied around their face, coughing and looking exhausted...
"I... I can't go back there!" says one.
"We have to!" the other replies... "It's our watch!"
"Ugh... F@&+ that!" the first one says. "I'd rather be whipped a hundred times than go back there!"
I'm almost afraid to ask what's happening... - Eitylen sighs for he knows his curiosity is stronger than his common sense - Excse me, lady, sir, do you know what's the cause of that smell?
The woman barely contains her nausea... And doesn't even attempt to speak. The man next to her speaks slowly and with difficulty...
"Ugh... I don't know! We were just taking a walk by the docks, and then the smell started pouring in..." he says, trying to breathe as little as possible. "Argh... It's like Urgathoa crapped her pants in there!"
Brother Cyrus goes to investigate.
"A bad smell can't be THAT bad."
It's pretty bad... The smell gets stronger and stronger the closer you get to the docks, to the point where you can barely breathe without feeling sick...
"Oh gods that is pretty awful. Not enough to start gagging though."
"You have a stronger stomach than us, stranger..." the man says.
"Glad we did this BEFORE drinking..."
Cyrus holds his nose.
"Drinking would atleast kill our memory of it." The paladin says wryly.
This is terrible, let hurry to find the root of the problem
You move forward, bravely resisting the gut-wrenching stench... As you move, you see many passerby going in the opposite direction, away from the docks... Those who remain have scarves or masks covering their faces. You even see a mage-looking guy with a air bubble around his head.
It gets considerably stronger when you get close to the docks. The stench does not seem poisonous or exotic, it's really strong, but it still smells like common vinegar and rotting fish...
Eventually, you reach the Mad Shark... It has is "OPEN" sign up, but all of its doors and windows are closed. And the brown-haired girl who is almost always by the door is nowhere to be seen. You can hear voices and music coming from the inside, though.
As soon as you open the door, a familiar voice speaks to you...
"Quick! Come in!" Says one of the waitresses, who shuts the door behind you as soon as you're out of the way.
There are a few patrons in the main room. As well as a couple performers providing music, but the tavern is unusually empty.
"Please... *ugh*... Take a seat... Someone will serve you in a sec." she says as composed as she can...
The stench is not nearly as bad in here as it is outside, but it's still present.
Not far, from there, you see a big commotion in front of a merchant, docked ship...
A bunch of people armed with torches, hammers, cleavers and similar tools shout angrily at a merchant-looking man who desperately tries to calm them down, but dares not to leave the side of the two sellswords next to him.
Everyone (from both sides of the argument) has their face covered.
"This is your fault!" shouts a man in the crowd, pointing at the merchant with his kitchen knife.
"I didn't do anything!" the merchant replies. "I just got here!"
"Yeah, and the smell 'coincidentally' started as soon as you showed up... And coming right from your boat as well!" the angry man replied.
"That's just coincidence... And it's not coming from my boat!"
"Let us in to see for ourselves, then! shouts an angry woman with a meat-softner in hand.
"I can't just let strangers to enter my boss' ship!"
"F~!~ you!"
Cyrus frowns and wraps a piece of cloth around his face.
"Damn, I can't really work up an appetite with this smell. Lets check it out."
He approaches the merchant with his arms crossed.
"If you have nothing to hide then there should be no problems. We've done work for Lady Elena Wavebraver herself so that should speak of our credibility aboard your ship."
People start murmuring after hearing Brother Cyrus' words...
"Look, sir..." answers the man, trying to keep his composure. "You look like a good man. I can't let who enters my boss ship be dictated by an angry mob, but-" An empty glass flies and shatters on the hull of the ship behind the man.
"WHO ARE YOU CALLING AN ANGRY MOB?!!" shouts a man branding a pitchfork.
"..." The merchant glares and continues... "-But if you manage to bring an officer of the city guard or at least the dockmaster, I can let them check my cargo."
"I'd love to, in fact, guards were on their way but they couldnt stomach the smell."
Cyrus leans in closer.
"Folks here are having their livelihoods affected by this smell. If this isnt solved quickly you could be looking to pay reparations for the businesses that are suffering. You're a smart man. Wouldnt your boss be more upset having to pay more fines?"
"Only if the smell were actually coming from the ship. But it isn't. All we have her are fabric and a few passengers..." says the man
"Please, understand... My livelihood is also at stake here, sir." he says, sounding genuinely concerned. "I can't just let random strangers into the ship. You're free to join the armada, merchant guild, city guard or dockmaster in their search, if you want... I won't even ask for a warrant, but I *need* some sort of official presence. Otherwise my boss will kill me!"
- - -
- To find the closed dockmaster
"With this stir the Dockmaster can't be too far. Tai, let go for him while Cyrus stays here making sure that things don't go out of hand"
"Yeah, let's go. I'll try the office, you look around elsewhere?"
"agreed" - Eitylen ask around for the Dockmaster in case he is not in the office.
"Huh... Dockmaster? I think I saw him a few blocks that way..." says a random sailor drinking rum. He turns out to be right.
Just a couple blocks beyond his office, you see a man wearing the navy blue armband typical of members of the Armada. He has white hair, despite appearing to be no older than 25. One of his eyes is bright yellow, while the other is covered by an eyepatch, and his teeth are visibly sharp, specially the canines.
The man wears an expensive-looking leather jacket and sailor boots... At his belt rest a fancy-looking sabre and a pistol.
"Can I help you, strangers?" he speaks politely, but seemingly uninterested...
"There's a problem at the docks. Some horrid stench is driving business away, and the public thinks it's coming from a ship. The man there won't let anyone on the ship without the dockmaster present, though he's adamant the stench isn't coming from the ship. We wish to search the ship and be sure, and he says that's fine as long as you're present. The situation is getting ugly, with a crowd gathering around the man. I'm afraid it could turn violent soon."
The dockmaster stares at you for a moment, clearly torn between surprise and regret for having asked..
He sighs heavily and grumpily murmurs a few words to himself before standing and talking to you again...
"Tsc... Take me to the ship."
You do so.
- - -
When you return, the crowd is already almost twice as large as it was before you left.
"What's going on here?" questions the dockmaster with a surprisingly stern tone.
"These people are threatening me and my crew!" says the merchant.
"This bastard is contaminating the whole city!" shouts someone in the crowd.
A quick back-and-forth occurs between the two before the dockmaster intervenes.
"Stop acting like children!" he speaks angrily. "Sir, are you holding anything that could be causing this smell?"
"No! All we have are fabrics, wine and a couple passengers! The cargo is sealed and scheduled to be unloaded in the morning... The passengers left as soon as we arrived here!"
"He's lying!" shouts a woman with a torch in hand.
"I'm not!" the merchant shouts back.
"QUIET!" interrupts the dockmaster. "Sir... I'd like to inspect your vessel."
"Sure! Anything to get these savages off my back!" the merchant answers loudly.
"F#!* you!" Replies an old man with a crowbar.
The dockmaster rolls his eyes and boards the ship, followed by the merchant...
The mercenaries leave the way open for you, directing their stares at the crowd.
Tai follows.
On the main deck, the stench is slightly less overwhelming than on the docks... Although the night sea wind does push the smell towards land at this time.
The merchant leads the dockmaster to the cargo hold... Other areas of the ship are the kitchen, the crew quarters, the captain's cabin, the officer's quarter and two passenger's cabin.
There's also the "head", of course... Which should have a smell of its own...
Unless the people from the town start rioting, I think we can take 20 in the search.
"Could be some bad ingredients. Let's check the kitchen while the Dockmaster looks at the hold."
We can split the party to cover the area faster. Eitylen goes to the passenger's cabin.
Brother Cyrus goes to the front of the ship, where the kitchen is located and finds its door closed, but unlocked.
As he goes in, a fat man with a cleaver in one hand and half and a headless fish on the other turns around, revealing a broken nose barely covered by a half-burnt cloth.
"Close the fuc-" he speaks angrily, but cuts his words short. "The hell are you?" discernible confusion in his voice.
The kitchen smells mostly of salted meat, spices and burnt oil... But the stench of rotten fish and vinegar is actually significantly weaker in here.
- - -
Eitylen approaches the cabins. The passengers cabins are found by the sides of the captain's. Their doors are locked. No light or sound comes from either of them.
The door to the captain's cabin is just slightly ajar. You can hear the sound of pen scratching on paper and the soft humming of song coming from inside. Flickering torch light slips through the gap...
Leng goes down to the hold.
You follow the merchant and the dockmaster to through the crew quarters and into the cargo hold. The dockmaster is surprised by the merchant's willingness to let you in as well, but doesn't seem to care.
The crew quarters smell worse than outside, not because the stench is any stronger, but because it combines with the B.O. of the whole crew... The merchant holds his scarf even tighter and closer to his face, and even the dockmaster loses his stoic attitude, finally covering his face with his hand.
The stench goes back to its solitude once you reach the cargo hold... But doesn't seem worse than outside. The whole room is packed with barrels and crates.
"See?" says the merchant, half triumphantly, half exhausted. "Just like I told you! Nothing but spices and fabrics here!"
But the dockmaster doesn't reply... Instead he carefully checks the wooden containers.
"Mind opening some of these?" he finally speaks...
The merchant rolls his eyes and lets loose a resigned sigh, then gestures to one of the sailors accompanying you. The man grabs a nearby crowbar and opens a couple barrels and crates, revealing their content, which turns out to be exactly as described by the merchant.
The dock master closely inspects the products and seems satisfied with what he finds...
"Let's check the rest of the ship..." he says.
"Is all this really necessary?"
"I can leave if you want. You are the one with the angry mob waiting outside your ship."
The merchant sighs again, even louder than before... But then takes a deep breath and speaks calmly...
"Fine... I'll take you to the ballast... We can check the stern after that."
"Thank you for your cooperation."
The merchant rolls his eyes and moves towards the front of the ship, to the area directly below the kitchen.
"Sorry to bother you sir. I know how important the ship chef's job is. If you have a moment, any thoughts on where this smell is coming from?"
If he has any ideas, Cyrus with followup, if not he'll catch up with Eitylen after a polite quick bow.
Brother Cyrus
The cook raises an eyebrow at Brother Cyrus. He's not amused by strangers interrupting his work and demanding answers...
"I don't hear you answering my question, stranger..." says the man, his grip tightening around the cleaver's handle. "This ain't no cruise ship."
"Oh! Of course, I'm with the Dockmaster, we're conducting an investigation. I'm not sure you've noticed the angry mob outside?"
The next logical place is to rejoin Eitylen at the captain and passenger's cabins.