The last thing you remember was being in the bar, the Formidably Maid. The bar had been packed with all sorts of riff raff and ruffians just the sort you’d expect to find in the pirate city of Port Peril.
As your eyes open you realize your vision is still blurry, you can make out a dimly lit lantern above you and it appears to be swaying back and forth. You quickly realize that it’s the ground underneath you that’s moving back and forth.
What the bloody hell...? How much did that bastard make me drink last night...?
Nate sits up, feeling around his unfamiliar surroundings before noticing that it the ground moving and not just his head. He tries to focus as he shakes the cob webs out of his head and takes a look around.
Perception:
Emi, where the hell are you..?
Emilio wakes up, head pounding.
I'm on a boat. How'd I get on a boat? What did Nate get me into this time!?!
Nate? What's going on? Didn't we JUST get off the boat!?!
Emilio then looks around, trying to get his bearings, and makes sure his money purse, and other equipment are in tact.
Perception:
[ooc] do we have our equipment and whatnot? [ooc]
Nathan: As you look around you are completely unable to make out anything other than blurs of dark colours and you are unable to determine your whereabouts.
Emilio: You are able to perceive that there are four other people in the room with you laid around on the floor. It's too dark to determine who they are but you think you see them start to stir.
Everyone: As you look for your equipment you notice that you've been stripped of your armour and coin purse. All your weapons are missing and anything else you might have had on your person is gone.
Nate rubs his eyes, trying to focus on the churning and spinning room.
I haven't been this hung over since that night in Magnimar...
Nate pulls himself up off whatever he was sitting on.
Too bloody dark in here. Lets shed some light.
With a snap of his fingers and a small utterance, four small dancing lightly appear in the air around Nate; all a subtle hues of blue. The eerie light brightens up the room as Nate leans against the clammy, cold wood of the wall.
What is this some kind of boat...? How in Cayden's lucky mug did I end up on a bloody boat?
Of course I would have stored some lockpicks in my left boot.
Sleight of hand: .
And hopefully they didn't find my daggers in my wrist sheaths!
If you needed a sleight of hand for that .
Nate you in here? And who do we have as company in this splendid room?
I hope this isn't one of father's boats. Gah! How am I getting out of this one?
Emilio then tries to get up, attempting to find out if he was caught for his theft and in a cell or if it was just a standard cabin room.
Man my head hurts. How do I keep ending up with these women, I bet she took my gold too. As long as I still have my hat it's all good. Now where is my hat?
Perception check
A faint blue light appears over your shoulder and you can make out that the person next to you is actually a large pig who has started to chew on your hat laying on the floor beside you.
Other than your hat that's being chewed on you find none of your equipment.
As blue lights flicker you are all able to make out you are in a ships hold 30 feet wide, you are not sure how far it extends in the other directions.
Across from you on the other side of the hold are cages with pigs against the far wall and one cage seems to have come open.
to your left are stairs leading down and to your right a large round mast beam runs from roof to floor. Everything remains blurry and your heads still feel foggy.
Nate, how much do you remember from last night?
Emilio gets up and takes a closer look at the cages. Perception: (+ an additional 1 for hidden things).
So 5 people wake up on a boat. Sounds like a joke. I say we set the pigs loose and see if we can get to land. I hate waking up in strange places. Did anybody get a look at the guys who brought us here? Or are all of you in a drunken haze too? Man I want some coffee. Should I quickly pop my head up the stairs, see who's there?
Great. Pigs... This is ridiculous.
Nate looks around the hold, awkwardly stumbling over to the open cage, the eerie blue lights following me except for one which I place over Emi's head.
Did ye miss the wee fact that out heads hurt Emi? Calm down. Go check those stairs but for the love of all that's good and right in the world; Shut. Up.
Nate checks the open cage for any hint as to what was once inside. Also, he is going to be trying to move as quietly as possible.
Stealth
Perception
After checking the cages Emilio whispers to Nate, sarcastically.
Here I always figured worshippers of Cayden would be able to deal with a hangover. You should probably go check how the other 3 are doing. The one with his hands on his head doesn't look so good.
And with a wink he heads over to the stairs as quietly as possible and looks to see anything He can downstairs.
Stealth:
Perception:
Damn dirty pig! Do you know how much that hat cost?!
Who were those guys that jumped me? They owe me a hat.
Who's there and how did I get here?
Borzin, you don't remember a thing from last night other than following a strange woman into the bar and having a drink or two, or three, you don't exactly remember how many you had.
Jasmel opens her eyes and tries to discern her surroundings without giving away that she is awake.
Perception
Intelligence
Nate leans against the gate, watching the woman and the man in the hat stand up. He narrows his eyes, wondering what the connection is between all of them.
Emi's right, this does sound like the makin' of a bad joke. A very bad bad joke.
Well, kind sir in the saliva covered lid, my name is Nathan Abramson. My short, noisy, annoying friend over there by the stairs is Emilio Felix. And judgin by the confused and slightly annoyed look on yer face, you be in the same boat as us. Both metaphorically and literally.
With another snap of his fingers and a small mutter, Nate casts Prestidigitation on his clothes, cleaning out the stink of laying in the same room as the pigs. At the same moment he does the same to the man's hat, hoping to at least make it wearable again.
That IS a fine hat sir...?
Nate leaves the end of his question open, hoping for a name. He also looks intently at the faces of the other three in the room, seeing if he recognizes them.
Int roll?
You find that you are able to focus and see your environment around you. It doesnt reveal much more than what you've determined. The hold is nearly empty except the pig cages.
None of you remember the others from the bar, Nathan does seem to remember seeing the hat that's being chewed on by the lose pig but doesn't remember the wearer.
As you are talking you hear footsteps pounding on the deck above you and a hatch opens up into the hold and light shins in blinding you for a second.
Emilio you where just making your way across the room to the stairs leading down when this happens and you were caught square in the light from the open hatch.
Stairs fall to the floor and a tall man with a black scraggly beard, a red bandanna and black coat comes stomping down the steps. He has a broad toothy grin and you notice his teeth are made of gold, He yells at you,
“Still abed with the sun over the yardarm? On your feet, ye filthy swabs! Get up on deck and report for duty before Cap’n Harrigan flays your flesh into sausage skins and has Fishguts fry ye up for breakfast!”
As he says this you notice he has a well used whip in one hand.
Behind him come six more rough looking people and they start to file passed him into the hold around you. Each of them has a sap in hand.
Nate raises his hands, and as the crew floods into the room his expression gets very dark.
I will have you know that I am not one for indentured labor, ya saucy git
With that, while the men with saps flood into the room, Nate casts color spray over them - hoping to stun them long enough to turn the situation around. (Will saves dc 15)
What did we get ourselves into this time?
He takes a quick scan of his captors, hoping to size them up.
Perception
From the looks of the other six they all appear to be ruffians and brigands, four humans, a dwarf and a half orc. You can tell by their attire they are pirates.
With colour Spray you are able to catch two of them in the cone as well as the leader who was yelling at you.
The Lead pirate is unfazed by the attack
Pirate 1, Rounds
Pirate 2, Rounds
Two of the pirates in the middle of the room fall unconscious.
However you also manage to catch Emilio in the spray as well.
How dare you try to take captive and make demand of the great Captain Vargruth, pirate of the.......
Emilio tries to convince them they are over their heads but then realizes that he is getting surrounded by bright lights.
NO.... Nathan you impulsive bast..................
will:
Emilio then collapses over right beside the other pirates.
Unconscious: rounds; blinded: more rounds; stunned 1 more round.
Seeing the two pirates and Emi drop, Nathan turns on a dime and runs his full move away from the advancing thugs. He turns, his back to the wall pressed into a nook.
There's more where that came from you insufferable fools!
Damn, sorry Emi. But I'll get ya...
Nathan: As you run two pirates attempt to hit you with their saps.
Pirate 3 Damage Non-lethal
Pirate 4 Damage Non-lethal
They both miss, as you move down the hold your lights reveal a door ahead of you, one to your right and some stairs small stairs leading up that end in another door.
Nate, seeing the doors, books it to the first door on his right. His light orbs follow, dipping into the room just before the frantic human does. Nate slams the door shut and looks around the new room.
Perception
Nathan: As you race down the hold you hear the leader of the pirate below "Owlbear!!"
You are able to make it through the door and get it shut behind you. You find yourself in a tiny cabin with two beds and two small lockers.
Several chickens are in the room. They flap madly as you burst in. Feathers fly about the room.
Laying on one of the beds, empty whisky bottle in hand, is a large fat man laid out on his back with one foot on the ground and another empty bottle at his feet.
He slowly sits up and bellows "dammit Grok don't slam the door!...ye aren't Grok?
What the hell is that Nathan guy doing? Well I'm not one to back down from a fight and if these are the guys that jumped me at the tavern...
You dirty bastards were able to take me down when I was drunk, lets see how you can handle me sober!
Borzin shouts as he stands up. He tries to uppercut Pirate #4 with his left and follow it up with a right hook.
Unarmed #1 Damage Nonleathal
Unarmed #2 Damage Nonleathal
Borzin: you swing short with your uppercut missing a half-orc pirate with a large gut. Your right hook is easily blocked. The pirate grunts and snarls at you but says nothing.
As Nathan runs out of site you see the pirate at the bottom of the stairs with the golden teeth snarl and uncoil his whip. He yells "Owlbear!!"
Nathan takes a second to catch his breath and calm himself as he looks over at the fat man languishing on his back.
What in the...
Nate bends over, brushing some stray feathers off of his boots as he trys to frantically think.
No, you're right, I'm not Grok. He said you'd be already in the Galley Cayden, please let this guy be a cook. He sent me in to grab an bottle of your strongest for something. He said he'd pay you later.
Nate smiles wide, leaning against the door and bracing himself slighty.
Diplomacy
Bluff
"HA! Don't give me that bilge water sonny, I may not know most a da crew cause they come and go faster than a bottle a good whisky round here, but I know a landlubber when I see un.
He tips the bottle over looking for more alcohol, he looks disappointed when he finds its all gone.
"Side's ifan you knew anything bout this ship ye would'na be callin Grok no mister. She would'na take to kindly to that!" He lets out a hardy laugh.
"Now you gonna splain yer bein here?" He scowls
A tall man lumbers out from the other end of the hold, He's well muscled from head to two dressed in nothing but tattered rags and a collar with a chain on it dragging on the ground. He looks to have been tarred and feathered in the last few weeks and not properly cleaned off as tufts of feathers still stick in patches on his skin.
The leader of the pirates jumps off the stairs and makes his way towards the big man with whip in one hand and key in the other stepping offer the fallen dwarf he says with an angry snarl. "We got ourselves a little game of cat and mouse Owlbear and it be time to hunt!"
He unlocks the chain around the big man's neck.
Brozin: The half-orc you just tried to hit takes a swing at you with his sap. While another pirate, a raven haird slim woman with an beautiful face and a bloodthisrty grin also steps your way sap in hand.
Damage Non-Lethal
Damage Non-Lethal
You Dodge one blow and the other doesn't impact you hard enough to do any damage.
Jasmel & Boyden:
The two remaining pirates rush forward not willing to give anyone else an opportunity to fight and try to grapple the Jasamel and Boyden on the ground.
A tall man lumbers out from the other end of the hold, He's well muscled from head to two dressed in nothing but tattered rags around his waist and a collar with a chain on it dragging on the ground. He looks to have been tarred and feathered in the last few weeks and not properly cleaned off as tufts of feathers still stick in patches on his skin.
The leader of the pirates jumps off the stairs and makes his way towards the big man with whip in one hand and key in the other stepping offer the fallen dwarf he says with an angry snarl. "We got ourselves a little game of cat and mouse Owlbear and it be time to hunt!"
He unlocks the chain around the big man's neck and points towards the door nathan ran through.
Seeing the hole he has dug himself, Nate cursed slightly under his breath. He looks at the drunken pirate in front of him and shakes his head.
Listen, I'm not entirely sure how I got here. But I need some answers quick. You're going to tell me why I'm suddenly on this swine infested boat an' how I can get off of it.
Nate plants his back against the door, hoping to brace it against any possible pirates trying to come after him.
Diplomacy
The fat man breaks out in a laugh and almost rolls off the bed. He gets ahold of himself and sits up straighter.
"Listen mate, you're here on the Wormwood if you like it or not, same as me. And the Capn' and his men plan on makin ye a pirate whether thar be a pirate bone in yer body er not. Sides look out there, ye see land?"
He points over his shoulder at a small round window.
"Nah there aint no land. Ye got two options. Do as yer told or you'll be chum for the sharks or better yet when their done with ye I'll through you in the stew, the damn crews always complain'n bout not have'n nough meat."
He slowly lays himself back on the bed and scratches himself. He grabs his cooks hat, that's obviously seen better days and puts it over his eyes.
You hear him mumble "ungrateful bastards..."
I just hope Emi can forgive me for knocking him out.
With a pinch, just to make sure he is not just having a bad dream, Nate stands and goes to open the door, resolving himself to surrender and find away out of this situation slowly.
Jumped, knocked-out, kidnapped, thrown into the middle of a losing battle. This has gone from bad to worse... with no time to figure out what's going on like a person of any sense
For her AOO Jasmel will attempt to daze the pirate who is about to grapple her.
Will save DC14
Well my chances have gone from slim to nil. I don't think I want to take two beatings in as many days.
Borzin takes a step backward with his hands up.
Clearly I haven't fully recovered yet as I managed to miss the broardside of a barn. Let's go see what Captain Harrigan has to say
Jasmel as you prepare to attack you realize you can't see your familiar anywhere and you are getting the feeling that it is distressed.
Pirate hits you with his sap DMG
As you surrender both of the pirates look disappointed but both of them grip your arms tightly and shuffle you towards the steps to the upper deck.
The Owlbear, large man, Lumbers down the hall without a word in Nathan's direction. He makes it to the door as Nathan opens it, Owlbear is surprised to see Nathan come out, he arches his eyebrow and then with some hesitation he punches Nathan in the nose.
Owlbear's punch: Possible crit No crit but you take Non-lethal
The lead pirate yells "Get em all up on deck!"
With no sign of her familiar and the others giving up, Jasmel concedes defeat.
Jasmel: A overly large pirate sweating from head to toe and wearing no shirt grabs you with two meaty hands and hauls you to your feet. He leers at you and shoves you hard towards the stairs while holding on to you with one hand.
Emilio starts drooling on the floor.
Nate would like to take a step back (free 5), his nose throbbing and his eyes watering.
Feckin' OW! Do ye just walk up an play wack a nose with everyone you meet ya blundering brute!?!
Nate looks up at the brute and shakes his head swirling his fingers in the air before him all while quickly talking. (I would like a Charm Person cast on Owlbear, dc is 14 I think)
Listen, I'm sure these folk think yeh stupider then yeh really are and I'm sure yer a great guy, but yeh can't go thumping a feller in his schnause witout so much of a 'How'd ya do?'. Just ain't proper... But what do ya say? Friends?
Nate would like to hold his hand out, offering a hand shake and a smile.
And of course, I'll be surrendering and all now
Owlbear's Will Save
He stops in his tracks outside the room and looks confused. "Okay..." He says.
"What are you waiting for!! Go get em!!" Yells the Pirate leader.
"He gave up..." Owlbear shrugs
"What the Hell!!..." The leader yells and runs to the door uncoiling the whip. "Damn Magic users. Get up on deck now before I rip your hide off!! He points at Nathan. He turns to Owlbear, "And you get back to yer corner."
Owlbear heads off back to the other end of the hold.
One of the pirates picks up Emilio's drooling body and carries him up the stairs.
The remaining pirates force those of you all up on deck. One of the pirates begins to rouse, Emilio regains consciouseness while he's being carried up stairs.
You may all make a Perception Check at DC 10
You discerns the after taste of oily nutmeg on the tongue.
If you pass the above Perception check you can make either a DC 15 Craft (alchemy) check or DC 10 Knowledge (nature) check
You recognizes the after taste as a clear sign of oil of taggit poisoning. You surmise that the oil of taggit was probably added to and was hidden by the spicy food or spicy rum you had last night at the bar.
Each of you can make a DC 10 Intelligence check
You remember seeing the face of the tall skinny leader last night as and can piece together the facts outlined above in the spoilers.
You are all brought up on deck, you can tell you are on a boat in the middle of the ocean. You can see some land far off in the distance but nothing close by. All around you are pirates on the deck and some in the rigging, most of them are armed with a cutlass or an axe.
On the bridge is Large Mawangi man with a thickly braided beard and an eye patch on his left eye. You can guess he is the captain. He's standing with his arms crossed glaring down at you.
Standing beside him is a pale younger man in his twenties with a cruel grin, a long ponytail sprouting from a the back of a shaved head. He wears an open blue coat with gold embroidery over a shirtless lean and muscled body. In one hand he carries a cat'o Nine tails, on his waist he has a cruel looking cutlass. Both he and the captain have a brace of pistols stuck in their belts.
The younger man yells out to the lead pirate who forced you up on deck. "Master Scourge what in the name of Asmodeous took you so long to get these lubbers up on deck?"
Master Scourge looks angrily at the lot of you. "Sorry mister Plugg, but some of em can cast and they gave us some trouble"
Plugg looks to the captain who simply nods. Plugg nods at scourge, a cruel smile plays across his lips.
Master scourge steps up behind Jasmel and shoves her towards the main mast. Two pirates take her by the arms and begin to tie her to the mast. "Three lashes for the lot of ye!" Master Scourge says "Ye'll learn yer place."[/b] Most of the pirates jeer and a group of them move in around the rest of you to make sure you don't try anything.
- Initial Perception
- Int Check
Nate glares at both the captain and the short man sitting next to him. He takes a step forward and speaks out.
Really? Yer tae whip the folks who did not a thing but give up like I should'ave done? They did as much as the crates and the pigs. Why not grab the swine while yer at it and whip them too, since yer aptly titles Scourge-r gets his pathetic jollies off of whippin' folk.
Nate stares defiantly at the Captain, trying to save his friend from an unnecessary lashing.
Come on, give them all to me
Diplomacy to convince to just whip me and to spare the others. -
Perception at the end -
Initial perception check
Knowledge Nature check
Intelligence check
Jasmel shoots a glare at the captain (casting the Evil Eye Hex) as she's being grabbed by the other two pirates.
Jasmel recognizes the slim cruel man beside the captain from the Formidably Maid. She raises her voice loud enough to be sure the other members of the group can hear.
Plugg... I recognize him from last night.
What's that I can still taste? Of course, nutmeg!
He poisoned us with oil of taggit.
Initial Perception
Int check
Perception:
Craft(Alchemy):
Intelligence:
Emilio shoots a cold eye at Nathan.
So first Nate goes impulsive and fires off bright lights, then he tries to play the martyr. The poison the witch is talking about must still be in his system. I would think he would start using his honeyed words to get us all out of lashes rather than get him into them. Odd.
Emilio then starts trying to reason with the captain. He bows slightly, trying to show respect and begins.
My captain. You must excuse us. We were brought here against our will and that would make anybody try to defend themselves, but now looking at your awe striking vessel, and your extremely intimidating crew, we would have probably just joined you if you asked us. Who would not see this and think, "this is the life for me" wouldn't deserve it, but the way you went about this puts us at an impasse. You are obviously in charge here, taking whatever your eye pleases and obliterating anything that does not. We understand this now, seeing your terror striking appearance, and will not resist again. However, if I may be bold, you have two options here: you can see that we have learned our lesson from our previous beatings and have capable men loyal to you because of your mercy, or you can have new enemies, sleeping on the same ship as you, knowing that the only off this boat is through death, whether it be off the plank or... Emilio starts looking around at the rest of the crew but stating very matter of factually. making this fine vessel into a burning inferno taking every God forsaken life down to Asmodeous with them. So, what will it be, loyalty or death?
Diplomacy: +3 for lawful authority.
Emilio then looks at Nathan.
Throw off the martyrs way, it doesn't suit you, back me up you fool!
Captain's Will Save:
Nathan and Emilio: After you finish talking you hear someone behind you hiss in your ear "For the love of Besmara Shut up!" It’s a beatufiul woman in a tricorn hat with wavy red hair. "Talk'n 'll just make it worse for all ye!"
The two pirates finish lashing Jasmel's wrists to the mast with thick ropes.
From the the poop deck a woman with a red wide brimmed hat and a billowing cloak in the same colour steps up beside the captain and whispers in his ear, then steps back to stand at his right shoulder.
Mr. Plugg makes his way down the stairs from the bridge and the poop deck onto the main deck, Nathan you realize he's not actually that short but in comparison to the captain he appeared to be at first glance.
His brow is wrinkled in furious anger.
The Captain uncrosses his arms slams his big hands on the railing and leans over looking down at you,
“I realize that back on land some of you may have thought very highly of yourselves and what you believed you were capable of. But my name is Captain Barnabas Harrigan, that’s Harrigan to you lot, and I’ve sacked more towns and sank more ships than you’ve ever seen and I want you lot to understand that although my ship is short handed and I’d prefer not to lose anymore crew, I am not above making an example of any of you. So just try me...I dare ye!!!
Without a pause he continues
”This here is the Wormwood” He slams the railing with an open palm ”and on this ship ye’ll listen to Mr. Plugg and Master Scourge. I have some rules, One don’t ever talk to me, I like talk, but I don’t like your talk. Two, if I find out any of you that can cast have been using your magics on me or the crew again it’ll be six with the cat and a full day in the sweatbox for a second try.”
He points at a large metal box with a big lock on it below the bridge on the main deck and glares at Jasmel.
"And finally!" He looks back at the rest of you, "because we’re short handed if any of you gets the bright idea to kill a member of this crew for any reason it’ll be a keelhauling.”
Harrigan straightens himself up. ”Now Mr. Plugg, here aims to make you pirates for me, and first thing you need to learn is there are consequences for yer actions on my ship, master scrouge proceed.”
Master Scourge gets a cruel glint in his eye and uncoils his whip while one of the pirates lifts the back of Jasmel’s shirt to expose her back.
Sunnofa...
Nate gives Emi a shrug.
Well, so much for that...
Nate turns to the woman with the red hair and perks an eyebrow. He makes note of her face, vowing to talk to her later as he turns his head to avoid watching the Jasmel's scourging. Nate leans over to Emi and mutters quietly.
Sorry bout the whole knockin' ya out thing. I thought we'd be able to escape. We need to figure a plan to get off o' this hunk of drift wood.
Master Scourge strikes Jasmel twice with his whip, but pulls up short on the third as she falls unconscious.
The two pirates untie her wrists and haul her to the port side dumping her on the deck.
Scourge then turns and points at Emilio. "The short one." He sneers revealing his golden teeth.
The two pirates move towards Emilio to grab his arms and move him to the mast.
Looks like I finally anaged to join a crew. I'll take my licks and soon I'll have my own ship and my own crew