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You have all, for various reasons, found yourselves on board the Jenivere, a large Wyvern-class merchant vessel bound for Eleder in Sargavo. It left Magnimar on the 15th day of Pharast, 4710, and has made many stops along the way. It is now the 28th of Sarenith, the 104th day of the journey, and the end is finally drawing near. Another day or two at most, the captain says, and you will arrive at your destination.
The journey has seen a mixture of excitement and long, dull expanses of nothing happening. Some of the more noteworthy events include the relatively recent arrival of passenger Aerys Mavato in Port Peril. She immediately got into a fight with one of the ship’s crewmen who made an ill-advised pass at her. She soundly humiliated him in the resulting scrap and has since remained secluded most of the time.
Another event was the discovery of a stowaway. Surprisingly, Captain Kovack did not throw this individual off. Instead, the smiling Vudrani has ended up being something of an entertainer, and is particularly popular with the crew.
It’s a bright, sunny day today. A brisk wind plays off the waters of Desperation Bay. This evening there is to be a feast commemorating the upcoming end of the long voyage. Until then, this is a good time to enjoy the weather.
Unlike Aerys, Aakif doesn't sequester himself in his small cabin. He is not much of a sailor, however, and he does spend two or three days after leaving each port belowdecks in a vain attempt to not show the weakness of sea-sickness in front of the other passengers and the crew. Once he gets his sea-legs, he spends much of his time up on the deck, looking out over the endless expanse of water. He says nothing unless spoken to directly, and then mostly responds curtly.
Urza goes about his duties whistling a little tune. He's excited about their next port of call and the possibilities it brings. He's considering asking to join Ieana's expedition when they make landfall.
Despite his green pallor, Lorenz spends most of the days at sea leaning against the rail on the foredeck and smiling into the wind. His stomach has improved so that he only vomits a couple of times a day now, usually immediately after a meal.
He is friendly with the captain and crew, waving and cheerfully calling "Ahoy, mate!" whenever one comes within view. As Urza passes by Lorenz asks,
"What's that tune you're whistling?" He tries, without success, to whistle along.
Alton Devers is startled (though not entirely surprised anymore) when the familiar voice of Mahjik speaks next to his head. "Wise man says furrows on forehead are like sailing into storm. Wise man also say shared burden is less burden." Looking around he sees the little Vudrani hanging upside down from some rigging, his head a scant foot away smiling that sanguine smile that rarely leaves his features.
It's a goblin song. I could never get all of the words, but it mentions doing something terrible to babies and ends with 'We be goblins, you be food".
It's a goblin song. I could never get all of the words, but it mentions doing something terrible to babies and ends with 'We be goblins, you be food".
Lorenz's smile falters a little and he looks Urza over a little more carefully. Then the smile returns and his concern turns to awe. "You've sung songs with Goblins? Was that on one of your voyages? Oooh, is there a town full of friendly Goblins in Sargavo? That would be something to see."
Suddenly sheepish, Lorenz sticks out his hand. "I can't remember if we've met. I'm Lorenz Aeryson. I don't think I'm related to that Aerys with the temper who came aboard at Port Peril, though. I haven't had the chance to talk with her and find out. Funny that we almost have the same name, though, isn't it? I wonder if my father knew her? Oh, am I keeping you from your work? I hope the Captain doesn't..." he lowers his voice a little "...have you beaten. He's nice to me but he seems kind of mean with the crew."
"Some of us are a bit tougher friend, but the Captain would have to deal with a two-wolf pack if he would have Urza beaten for taking a small break for.. cheerful? Yes, cheerful conversation." Makoa says carefully as he hears the conversation and strides over, a smile showing off well developed canine teeth.
"I am Makoa." He says, having to look up to talk face-to-face with Lorenz.
First Mate Devers turns to Mahjik and smiles broadly. "Mahjik, my friend, you have a way of making a bright day even brighter! However, I'm not entirely sure what you're referring to. I suppose I have a burden. The burden of being second in command on a merchant vessel. There's always a burden that comes with command, they say. Other than that, though, there is nothing troubling me."
"I suppose I am a bit anxious about reaching Eleder. It's been a long journey."
Jask apologizes for making so many requests to see him. He explains that he just didn't know what else he could do. He doesn't trust the officers, and he doesn't know any of the passengers. He saw Aakif when they were boarding, so he hoped maybe he could find an ally on board ship. "I'm innocent of the charges against me. I know every prisoner must say that, but I truly am innocent. I was set up. Please, you must help me. Perhaps speak on my behalf to the captain."
"Very long." A tiny gnome emerges from behind a barrel near Mahjik and the first mate with a dissatisfied look on her face. She has a habit of seeming to appear out of nowhere, and the inhabitants of the Jenivere have grown used to it over the past months, just as they have learned to assume that their conversations in the common areas will be eavesdropped on. Her first few weeks on board, most of the crew at one time or another found her below decks going through their belongings; when discovered, she didn't even have the good grace to look chagrined, instead waving merrily at the owner of the possessions she was poking through and asking where they had picked up some item of clothing or jewelry that had attracted her attention. People expecting any form of privacy have taken to either carrying their valuables with them or asking the captain to lock them up safely in a secure area of the ship.
"It was interesting at first," she goes on, as if she weren't intruding on the conversation, "but I had no idea there would be nothing to look at all this time but water." She waves her hand vaguely out at the ocean that has drawn her disapproval.
Lorenz blinks in surprise to see Makoa walking over. "Oh! Hi! Makoa. It's nice to meet you too. Wolf pack? I thought you were..." he trails off, uncertainly eying the half-orc's teeth.
"Cheerful! Yes, there's reason for good cheer, isn't there? The journey is almost done and we get to celebrate with a feast tonight. I hope I can keep it down. The cook's soup isn't so bad to bring up again but real food might be...unpleasant." He shakes his head sadly at the thought.
"I wonder what Eleder is going to be like? Have either of you been there before? I hope I can find work there." The young man brightens at the possibility and beams at both crewmen.
"I've not been there before. I only wish to hunt, to challenge myself with ever more dangerous creatures, and to finally get a Lodge." Makoa says as he props himself up against the rails and watches the waves below.
First Mate Devers laughs. "Well, little one, I'm not sure what you expected on a sea voyage other than water. That is what the sea is made out of, after all." He smiles broadly to show that he is just teasing.
Aakif emerges from the lower decks and walks up to the forecastle, where he kneels down facing the sun and closes his eyes, his lips moving in prayer.
First Mate Devers laughs. "Well, little one, I'm not sure what you expected on a sea voyage other than water. That is what the sea is made out of, after all." He smiles broadly to show that he is just teasing.
She sighs. "I thought I was seeing the world. Not just the parts of it that are covered with water. It's like traveling from Whistledown to Magnimar inside a box: even though you're getting somewhere, you just see the same thing the whole time, like you're sitting at home in your room." She seems suddenly to realize that her complaints about the mode of travel might offend the first mate, and she reaches out with a smile to pat his leg. "Never mind. I'm sure you're doing the best you can. And after all, we're not there yet. There's still time for us to be attacked by pirates," she concludes hopefully.
"A lodge? Like the ones the Pathfinders use? I've never met a Pathfinder before. I'm sure there will be many dangerous creatures. Sargavo's supposed to be one of the more dangerous places to go. That's why I thought I could find someone who might hire me."
He turned to Urza. "Are you going to kill dangerous creatures and get a lodge too?"
Sasha Nevah bursts onto the deck and surveys the scene. She takes in a deep breath. "I love the fresh sea air! Especially when we're supposed to be really close to land." She brushes back her fiery red hair and strides across the deck. She nods at Makoa and Urza as she passes the group, but gives no acknowledgement to Lorenz. She makes her way over to the port side and gazes out over the water.
Behind her, Gelik Aberwhinge steps out onto the deck, dressed as always in his finest aristocratic clothes. He's always pristinely clean, somehow finding ways to wash his clothes and bathe regularly despite being out at sea. Ink-stained fingers are the only things that mar his otherwise immaculate appearance. "Can we see land yet?" he asks hopefully. "I'm afraid I'm too short to see over the rail."
"Can we see land yet?" he asks hopefully. "I'm afraid I'm too short to see over the rail."
"Psssssh," Douena exclaims in disgust. "No land, just more water." She eyes the other gnome critically. "You could always climb up on a barrel if you weren't afraid of getting dirty."
"I've sung with goblins and ogres, kings and heroes, and sailors and whores. All are the same at their core."
"Ha! The cook's soup is probably your problem. Real food would do you some good."
"He means a home with a wife and children. And yes, I too look for a lodge. Though I am not so keen on the killing part, I will it if I need to. "
Gelik strides over to Douena. "I am not afraid of dirt," he says. "I simply don't like it. There's a difference. Keeping clean and tidy is important. If you're not presentable, no one will take you seriously--and they'd be right not to!"
Gelik strides over to Douena. "I am not afraid of dirt," he says. "I simply don't like it. There's a difference. Keeping clean and tidy is important. If you're not presentable, no one will take you seriously--and they'd be right not to!"
"But if you never get dirty, what will you ever get done in life?" she asks. "Once you're dirty, you can always get clean again. Then you're clean and you've seen over the railing," she concludes with satisfaction. "Besides," she adds, nodding at Makoa, "that half-orc isn't the tidiest person I've ever seen, but I'll bet there's not a lot of people who don't take him seriously."
"Well, of course sometimes you have to get dirty. I'm not averse to it when necessary. Like you say, I can clean myself afterwards. But it wasn't necessary this time, as all I had to do was ask and you responded." Gelik looks over at Makoa. "I suppose people do take him seriously, but that's only because they're afraid of him. Better to have people take you seriously for the right reasons."
"What a wonderful life you've lived! I've never met a goblin, ogre or a King and I didn't know whores could sing!"
"A wife and children. What a novel idea. I've no time for that. Maybe when I'm old and gray and no longer able to lift a blade." He fondly touched the hilt of the rapier at his hip.
As the fire haired lass strode past, he swallowed nervously. "Excuse me, I ah, must..." He didn't finish his excuse, simply walking away from them both.
Slowing as he neared Sasha Nevah he spoke in a quiet, hesitant tone, most unlike his normally enthusiastic manner. "Ah, excuse me, I don't mean to intrude but...I couldn't help notice that you and I boarded at the same time and I know I owed Relik a lot of money but there was no work, you know, and I'm sure there'll be an expedition in Sargavo and wonders and riches... I'll pay Relik back, plus interest I swear it by Cailean's holy tankard!" He finished with a wheezing gasp.
"They fear him because they misunderstand him." Says the immaculately clean half orc protectively.
"If you took a bit of time to get to know him, you might find that there's more to him than meets the eye."
Sasha turns and looks at Lorenz with perplexed eyes. "What the hell are you whinging on about? I don't care who you owe money to. Now, if you'll excuse me..." She pushes past him and heads over to where Douena, Gelik, Mahjik, and the first mate are talking.
Lorenz watched Sasha walk away with astonishment plain on his face. "You don't? She doesn't? Well that's awfully good news!" He smiled and leaned back against the rail. Then he realized he had no one left to talk to and looked momentarily crestfallen until he spotted Aakif praying before the fo'c'sle.
"Excuse me..." He said as he left the rail but then he stumbled on a line of rope and spent the next several moments attempting to extract himself.
The kneeling Kelishite man doesn't seem to have heard Lorenz at first; his eyes stay closed and his mouth continues to move silently. When Lorenz manages to extricate himself from the rope, however, he finds Aakif standing and watching him with odd golden brown eyes.
"Yes?"
One leg circling the rigging to himself from falling Mahlik gestures at Gelik, smiling he points to the aft of the ship to where the poop deck rises high: "Wise man says that sometimes approaching a problem from a different perspective sheds new light."
Douena laughs at the Vudrani's observation, then asks Gelik, "Why do people take you seriously, then? Just because you're tidy?" She takes a deep breath, setting her jowls and shoulders heavily, then goes on in a comically deep voice: "'That Gelik Aberwhinge, he's not a gnome to be taken lightly. Have you seen how clean he is?'"
Noticing Sasha come towards them, Mahjik waves towards her invitingly. Then his face proceeds to mime the somber and brooding woman that had boarded the ship - and the evolution of her expressions to the energetic and optimistic girl she had become during the voyage. Concluding with the warm smile that she carried as she reached them.
Panting slightly from the effort of getting untangled, Lorenz says, "Ah, yes. I'm sorry to intrude," well, mostly, "but I've seen you off and on during our trip and realized I know nothing about you. Our trip is almost finished and since this is the last opportunity...My name is Lorenz, sellsword for hire and I'm traveling to Sargava in search of adventure, fortune and perhaps even a little fame. What purpose brings you to these wilds?"
Gelik scowls. "Well, at least I can speak for myself," he says and then points to Urza and Makoa. "I don't need my friends to speak for me." He tries to stand tall and sternly, but a gust of wind threatens to blow his hat off, and he's left clinging at it to keep from losing it.
Sasha's smile broadens even more as she watches Mahjik's display, and she chuckles as Gelik grabs at his misbehaving hat. "If that's supposed to be me, Mahjik," she says, "then I protest. There's no way I was that grumpy. Was I?"
Gelik scowls. "Well, at least I can speak for myself," he says and then points to Urza and Makoa. "I don't need my friends to speak for me." He tries to stand tall and sternly, but a gust of wind threatens to blow his hat off, and he's left clinging at it to keep from losing it.
"Oh, don't be mad," Douena says, dropping her impersonation and smiling beseechingly. "I'm just teasing."
Gelik glares at Douena. He then adjusts his hat once more and stomps off across deck.
"My name is Lorenz, sellsword for hire and I'm traveling to Sargava in search of adventure, fortune and perhaps even a little fame. What purpose brings you to these wilds?"
Aakif stares at Lorenz for a long moment, then finally responds, "I am Aakif. I have been exiled from the clan of my birth. I seek only to make a life for myself as an honorable warrior. I grew bored in Qadira and the rules of Cheliax sit ill with me; thus, here I am." He is silent for a moment, but just before Lorenz has a chance to say anything else, he hears Aakif say, much more quietly, as if speaking to himself, "Perhaps if my honor is great enough, I may return to my home."
Lorenz's smile turns sad and he nods. "I may know a little of how you feel, Aakif. In a way, I was exiled from my home as well. I don't think I can ever go back, though."
He finds a nearby barrel and carefully sits on it. "I've never been to Qadira but I agree with you about Cheliax. That was an unpleasant land to travel through, all stiff and mean and you never knew when you might get arrested for any manner of...things. His expression as serious as it had ever been since arriving aboard the Jenivere, he lifted his hand as though to pat Aakif's shoulder, thought better of it, and lowered the hand again.
"We are well-met, Aakif. I hope that someday you indeed find a way to return home again."
Observing Gelik hurrying away from the other group, Lorenz brightened. "Gelik! We've grown melancholy! Come tell us one of your stories! To Aakif, "Gelik tells the most incredible stories. Oh, to see the things he has seen!"
Mahjik laughs with Sasha, winking "Wise man knows when to keep mouth sealed." He proceeds: "The world is not weighing on you so heavily anymore - you are like the little bird, flying free and unfettered. It is good. Though - " with a nudge at Douena " - not quite as flighty as this one. I believe she is looking forward to Eleder more than any one on this ship." Thinking for a moment, "Wise man would be well prepared - Alton? Could you tell more of Eleder?"
Alton nods. "Eleder's a magnificent city," he says. "Sometimes, I think it reminds me of cities in Cheliax, but it's not exactly the same. A lot of the local Mwangi style has crept into the designs. Of course, if you really want to have a good time there, you should stay away from the aristocracy. They still want to believe they live in Cheliax, especially Lady Madrona. She's some really old noble, super patriotic about Cheliax. No, stick to the normal, everyday folk and you won't go wrong. If you're interested in exploring inland, the Sargava Club is a good place to start. They can help outfit you and give you information."
As Alton speaks, the remaining two passengers come onto the deck. Ishirou is an older Tian man. He always has an exotic sword that he calls a katana sheathed to his back, and this time is no different. He looks about the deck and sees the larger group forming by the first mate. He gives a polite nod to everyone, but does not join you. He has rarely associated with others on the ship, and pretty much never smiles.
Aerys Mavato also comes on deck. She immediately notices several of the crewmembers' eyes turning towards her. None of the crew say or do anything (they're much too afraid of what she did to the previous crewman who made an advance at her), but nonetheless, Aerys sighs, turns around, and goes right back below deck again.
Alton stops in his description of Eleder. "If you'll excuse me," he says to the others, "I need a word with some of the crew. Can't have them annoying passengers, even inadvertently." He goes over and starts calling out the crewmen who looked at Aerys.
Douena scoffs at the half-elven woman's retreating back. "Miss High and Mighty, isn't she? Do you think she expects people to pay admission just to look at her?"
DM:
Lorenz's smile turns sad and he nods. "I may know a little of how you feel, Aakif. In a way, I was exiled from my home as well. I don't think I can ever go back, though."
"If truth speaks, I do not think I can, either. I was cast out by the Shaman; his word is law, and not even the Chieftan will work against him. My only true hope would be to wait for him to die, but he is not so old yet. By the time I might return to the Sun-Chases-The-Wind clan, it would be home no more, I think." His expression grows somber for a moment, then he seems to shake it off. "So, it seems we are both warriors adrift on the seas of fate. Maybe we should ..." he hesitates as if he was about to say something, then switches tacks, "... have a tankard of ale together when we reach Sargava and drown each others' sorrows."
DM:
Gelik looks over when Lorenz calls to him. He's initially scowling, but when Lorenz refers to his "incredible stories", his scowl turns into a wide smile. He skips on over to them. "I would be delighted! he says, and launches into a comical tale of a dim-witted Chelish noblewoman who is outwitted by her Mwangi servant. He accents it with lots of mimed actions.
His performance is good enough that it soon attracts the attention of several crewmembers who are looking for a cheering up after being told off about Aerys. Soon, the crew is laughing uproariously.
Makoa hides a smile as he listens to Gelik's "reason to be taken seriously" and how he himself did not have that reason. Funny, that little gnome...
He grins wolfishly as his earlier assumption of Gelik proves correct, what with the gnome's stories. But even the best stories couldn't even begin to compare to memories, not to Makoa. He goes back to the rail, and stares up at the sky, knowing by instinct where the moon was. Oh, to be back with his pack and howling as the hunt began... it was almost enough to make him howl right there!
As Gelik launches into his first story, Lorenz leans a little closer to Aakif and says softly, "A drink would be welcome. No matter what may come of us after our arrival, it would be a comfort to have a friend in such a strange land. P'raps we'll even have reason to journey on a while further together. I'd be honored to stand in battle beside thee. But for now, let us enjoy Gelik's tale; a good laugh can be rare to find and one should embrace it when one can!"
Lorenz listens avidly to Gelik's story and laughs wholeheartedly with all the others, clapping the Gnome gently on the back. "By Cailean's blade, you are a delight!"