Jean offers, 'I have a few skills worthy of song. A few spells, a few magic performances, the usual."
Karz shrugs, 'I have muscles and I'm not stupid but I don't know exactly what you need?"
'What kind of boat are we 'borrowing' and where is it?" Karz asks, looking at the water between them and the Pillar. So who owes you the favor?"[/b]
"Which spells do you know?" Jade asks Jean.
She turn to Karz. "Truth be told, I haven't seen the boat yet. it was promised to me though, and the one who promised me it has had plenty of time to prepare it."
Jade shows Karz a cheeky grin. "Sheila Heidmarch, of the Pathfinder Society. I paid her a visit before I joined the Aspis. I think it's time to tell her I need it now."
"But first, I should find this lad who owes me a favor..."
Pulling out her disguise kit, Jade turns back to Jean. "I'm going to disguise you, so people won't notice it's you while you walk to us from place to place. Stand still, please."
"No... No, total rubbish. Way too recognizable..."
"Much better!" Jade says content, having totally transformed Jean's appearance. He's now a fancy looking redhead gentleman with an awesome mustache.
Jean bows and says, with a pretentious Taldane accent, "My word, what a bunch of ruffians!"
Karz cracks a smile but says, "Good work Jade but we have to move quick. Godfrey will wonder what we are up to if we loiter."
'Where will we find your friend?"
"Let me think a moment, I've already done some research on his whereabouts..."
Jade has been searching for Brew for awhile. Luckily he isn't a hard man to find. A former lumberman on Kyver's Islet, she knows which of the rundown shacks is his.
"He's on Kyver's Islet. Now I think about it, we should pick up the boat first to get there. Let's go."
Jade heads to Heidmarch Manor with Karz and Jean. She's constantly on the watch while walking, and avoids the main streets just in case.
"The fewer people see us move there, the better," she explains. "Just in case."
They move up the streets, watchful for eyes. Jean finally corrects her saying, 'Act bold, pretend we belong here. Skulking around the side streets is not what my persona would do and besides, that just raises questions in the richer districts. Follow me." He grins then, 'If anyone asks, you are my servants."
Awesome mustache in the lead, Jean leads them right down the main streets, talking and giving orders loudly as they walk. It seems to work for no one stops or even glances at them and soon they stand outside Heidmarch Manor.
The thin man bows and doffs an imaginary cap. 'Thank you, I am here all week."
Karz looks at the place remarking, 'Pathfinder Society. You have powerful friends, Jay. Remind me not to cross you."
"Thank you, Jean," Jade says with a pat on the bard's shoulder. "I feel like this collaboration's paying off already!"
As she walks up to the manor's doors and knocks, Jade comments on what Karz said: "It's good to have friends, Karz. Especially in a world like this, where you need them. I'm glad to now be able to call you one."
'Let's not get carried away." The half-orc says, "I'm working with you, not your soulmate."
As he speaks the door swings open on well-oiled hinges. framed int he doorway is the Lady Heidmarch. She is still the tall, imposing lady she has a month ago, when Jade first met her. A former adventurer, the pirate can see traces of that old lifstyle in how she moves, surely, calmly, without hurry.
Her eyes sweep over Jade, Korz and Jean.
"Well, well, bit out of season for a theater troupe. Early for Angel Day?" She says, smile at her lips.
Jade suppresses a snicker after what Karz says, but turns it into a broad smile after Lady Heidmarch speaks. "We're in the process of preparing for it."
She waits for the Lady to invite them in. Once inside Jade gets straight to business. "I plan to infiltrate the Pillar today, Lady. A month ago we discussed the option of me borrowing a boat. As there's little time to waste, I have come in the hope it sits ready."
"I do have a few questions, though. It's likely we'll not be very welcome in Magnimar after exiting the prison. What do you want me to do with the boat, and your gnome friend? I do plan to travel north after leaving Magnimar. Shall I deliver them elsewhere, another Pathfinder lodge up north perhaps?"
The Lady leads them into a decorated foyer, the walls covered with tapestries from distant lands. Before she answers Jade's questions she turns a glance on Korz and her eyes widen a bit.
'Do you know who this is, Jade? Are you sure it was wise to bring him into your confidence?"
The half-orc looks uncomfortable but holds her gaze.
Jade nods at Lady Heidmarch. "I know his name is Karz, and he currently works for the Aspis. He's told me he's done things he's not proud of. I have no idea what those things are, but my gut tells me it's not too late for him to strive for a better future."
"Logic tells me there's the potential of a double cross when you take someone who works for the enemy aboard," she says, and turns to look at Karz, "but I trust my guts over logic. Silly as that may be."
For a moment Jade keeps her eyes fixed on Karz, trying to gauge his reaction to her words. Not to judge him, or to find a sign of betrayal, but simply to see how he feels about what she said.
Jade turns to face Lady Heidmarch again. "I stand by my decision, and Karz will prove himself once we're inside the Pillar."
Jade detects nothing from the half-orc except a fierce determination not to break down under that stare. He succeeds, barely.
Finally the Lady turns back to Jade, "You took your time. I was just about to send agents to ask what the delay was. In any case, the first ship I had for you is gone, used for a more pressing matter."
She raises a hand, "I have another, but it is a leaky old thing just out of repairs. But she is yours, if you want it."
Great, we got a leaky raft...
"As long as it gets the job done," Jade responds, trying to hide her concern about the 'leaky' part.
"Anyway... What shall I do with the ship, if it still sails by the time we arrive elsewhere? And is there a specific place you want your gnome friend dropped off?"
The Lady smiles, "The ship is yours, as a gift. Consider it an investment into your fleet."
"As for Deviloius, ask him. He is not my employee any longer, but a friend. As long as he is reasonable, please drop him off where he'd like. I'll owe you a favor." A smile, "Instead of of the other way around."
"Thank you for your generosity, Lady," Jade responds with a polite nod, and smiles back at the Venture-Captain.
"We should be on our way," she then says. "I was pleasant doing business with you. We shall meet again in the future."
Jade exits the manor and heads straight for the dock where the ship's at. While moving Jade says several prayers to Gozreh, wishing for a ship that will actually stay afloat and do the job she desperately needs it to do.
When the trio arrives at the ship, Jade takes a minute or two to thoroughly inspect the ship.
Jade finds the ship, tied up at one of the many docks that line Magnimar's coast.
It is a sloop, more of a boat then a ship. It'll be a tight fit just to squeeze everyone from the jail break on her. Jade swarms over her, investigating the boat from bow to stern.
The sails are worn but sound, the ropes are a horrendously knotted mess and lacks half of what she really needs. The hold is dirty and full of nasty bilge water but she only seems a minimum of leaks. The keel and rudder seem sound is undersized. The bow has been recently repaired and a slapshdash coat of paint could hide cracks and seams. There is no anchor, but the cabin has a crude hammock and there is enough room below for 4, if squeezed.
It is a far cry from some of the ship's Jade has sailed on but she isn't sinking into the harbor, not yet anyway.
Karz frowns, 'Don't ships need names?"
"Yes, they do," Jade says thoughtfully, meanwhile taking an unknotted rope from her handy haversack. "Hmm... Let me think on that..."
"Karz, Jean, could you unknot those ropes?" She motions at the knotted bunch. "When done, see if you can find a bucket or two to throw some of the water in the hold overboard. I fear we'll go too deep once we're all on it. Not only that, the extra weight of the water will slow us down."
Meanwhile Jade starts cutting her fifty feet of rope in appropriate sized ropes for where ropes should be added, and begins attaching the ropes where needed.
"The rudder blade's a bit small, which will likely make turning a bit more difficult," Jade tells the others while working on the ropes. "Not much we can do about it now, but definitely something we want to change later on. I hope I have enough rope on me to fix what really needs to be fixed... An anchor can be improvised, I'm not to worried about it right now."
Jade's 'crew' gets to work, although Karz is a bit unsteady on deck, even as it is tied up in calm waters. The former pirate is darkly amused and wonders what he'll make of his first storm.
They sit and unknot ropes, cursing as they do so. It is tedious work but it does save material. Jade is forced to use 35 feet of her rope to make the ship usable.
Later the half-orc goes below and starts bailing water. He makes a face and says "Does it always smell?"
Jean laughs but one look at the fighter's face and he is back to untying knots.
"The smell's caused by the water standing still for some time," Jade tells Karz. "I'll see if I can do something about it pouring in."
Once she's done fixing the ropes Jade cuts some more of her rope off and starts to take it apart to create long plucks of fiber. She then heads into the hold and starts wedging the smaller pieces of rope in between the boards that are letting water through, using her rapier for the job.
Once done in the hold, Jade checks to see if there are more cracks in the bow that the paint could be hiding. If she detects any, Jade will repeat the same process as in the hold.
Once done Jade checks how far Karz and Jean are, expecting them to have pretty much emptied the hold by now.
"And, less smelly now the water's mostly gone?" she asks with a grin when checking on them.
As she fills the holes Karz comes up, "All right, we have to go. We take too long, they will start looking for Jean. Enough of this messing around, get this thing moving, driving, whatever they call it." The half-orc is obviously frustrated and out of his element. He kicks the side of the boat irritably.
Jade looks back at Karz, then at what she was doing, and lets out a deep sigh. "I'd hoped to finish this quickly, but you're right. We should get going."
She sheaths her rapier and puts the rope away, after which she jumps back aboard the boat.
"Alright, Jean, I'm going to ask you to stay below deck for now. If more people indeed come looking for you, then it's best you stay unnoticed."
"Oh, and if we encounter anyone, your name's Josh," she adds with a grin.
Jade points at on of the ropes tying the boat to the dock, meanwhile walking to another rope that does the same. "Karz, could you haul that one in? I'll get this one."
Once the boat's no longer tied the dock Jade shows Karz which ropes raise the sails and starts pulling them.
"And that's all we need to teach Brew as well," Jade explains as she moves over to the helm. "Pull in the ropes that attach the boat to the dock, and pull the ropes that raise the sails when we're about to jump onto the boat. If he does those two simple things for us, our escape will be much swifter."
Jade starts maneuvering the boat away from the docks and toward Kyver's Islet.
"What about Emerald?" Jade asks Karz, once they're out on the water. "I was thinking about using gemstones in my future ships' names, together with another word. So you'd get ship names like Sapphire Storm or Ruby Raver. This boat's simple though, so just Emerald fits it better."
Jean looks scandalized, "Josh? Josh isn't a Taldane name. Micheaux is much better." But he does go below, out of sight.
Karz helps set the boat off, despite a green look.
'Future ships? Do we have a fleet somewhere?" He says with a shaky laugh as they sail south, skirting the bigger merchant traffic going in and out of port.
"Not yet, but I know of a couple of places where there's enough money to be gained to buy several," Jade replies with a mysterious wink.
As they sail toward Kyver's Islet Jade asks: "Karz, could you perhaps check below deck to see how Josh-Micheaux and the repairs are holding up now we're sailing? I hope we're not gaining any water, or at least not fast..."
The orc heads below, bucket in hand. After he leaves, Jade is left alone with water, wind and wood. It has been long, too long before it was just her an the sea. The salty smell fills her lungs, wafts her hair. As she does so, Blue pops out, and flies around.
"Is this..yours?" the fey says, shooting about exploring. "How does it swim?" The little figure starts poking around the sails and ropes, a darting sizzle of blue light.
Ahead Kyver's Islet looms, and Jade steers toward Brew's lodging, which lays right alongside the river.
"It is, yes," Jade tells Blue, happy to see Blue flying about again. "It's a boat, and it floats. That means it stays on the water."
Jade points at the sails. "The wind blows against those, the sails. That pushes us forward. Changing which way the sails point, changes how the wind blows in it, and how we much."
She then points at the helm. "With this I can also change which way we go."
Blue nods, "Neat!" And flits around some more, playing with the sails and ropes.
The Emerald docks at an old, empty looking warehouse. Karz comes back up deck, looking quite wet and smelly.
"I do not think you are convinced me on sea travel." he points "Let's get your new friend."
Jade suppresses a laugh. "The hold will be fixed at the first opportunity that presents itself, and once everything's dry inside we'll do something about the smell."
"How good or bad was it?" she asks as she jumps off board.
"Josh-Mineaux, you coming?" she calls out to Jean, figuring it best to keep him close in case people do indeed come after him. Even way over here on Kyvers's Islet, which she deems unlikely.
'I don't know boats but it didn't seem to be getting much worse as time went on. That is good, right?"
Jean pokes his head out, "The name is Mineaux. You have to commit. I think I'll stay aboard, it is safer and I can keep a job on the water level. Wouldn't do much good if she sank while you were off recruiting drunks."
"Definitely good."
Jade nods at Jean. "Alright, Mineaux. We'll be right back!"
She then starts in the direction where Brew should be.
At the door to the leaky tenement brew lived in, Jade is informed he is 'at the temple' and is pointed to a very small and dirty temple of Shelyn near the waterside. All around it are beggars and invalids of various types. It is a picture of misery.
Karz says, "A number of the mills have shut down this year, been hell on the people living here."
"What made them shut down?" Jade asks, curious.
She takes a good look around to see if Brew's among the people outside
The half-orc shrugs, 'Some power play by the Consortium. I think it was about restricting supplies to the shipyards in order to bring pressure to a few noble families. I remember it being quite convoluted. It did hurt a lot of people down here, worse then I thought." he says, looking at the small crowd of dirty beggars.
Jade then spots Brew among the squalid mass, sitting on the temple steps, a small wooden cup in front of him. At his side sits a mostly empty gin bottle. He blinks owlishly and his head weaves but he sees Jade and smiles, 'I know you!"[
"I'm glad you remember me," Jade says to Brew and cracks a smile.
"It doesn't look like you've been doing too well since we last met, but at least there are no more goons coming after you? You've also been a victim of the closing mills?"
The man nods in that very grave way of the very drunk. "Yes, ma'am. No work to be found. Family dead and house lost. Nothing left but a few drops of this." he raises the bottle and salute Jade formally.
'My thanks to you though, for helping me. Want to sit and drink with me?" The action of lifting the bottle causes him to topple over into the dirt besides the stairs.
Jade feels her heart sink all the way to her feet and into the ground.
He's drunk... s*&#...
She turns to Karz. "You don't happen to know a way to sober someone up with a reasonably short time, do you...?"
With a heavy sigh Jade shakes her head.
@#&%...
Karz grins and toes the man with a big boot. 'I don't get drunk, Jade. I just get mean. So I wouldn't really know. We could toss him in the river, I suppose?"
The man drunkenly shakes his head, then obviously gets dizzy and stops.
"Hmm... Yes, let's try that."
Jade takes Brew's arm and pulls him along with her. "I've got work for you. Come."
If Brew's holding onto the bottle, Jade takes it from him and tosses it on the ground. "Better to leave that behind, lest you drink more..."
Once they get back to the boat Jade takes one of her ropes, ties it around Brew's waist and says, "Sorry."
After handing Karz one end of the rope Jade pushes Brew into the water, then heaves Brew back onto the land with Karz's help. Jade then takes a trail ration and a waterskin from her haversack and pushes them into Brew's hands. "Drink. Eat. It'll make you sober up faster if you have some water and food in your stomach. I have a job for you, but it requires you to be sober. Understood?"
The man is barely able to manage getting tot he boat, with both Jade and Karz having to prop him up several times. The half-orc growls, 'Is this worth it?"
He does grin though as Brew is dunked into the water then unceremoniously hauled back up. Looking like a sad wet rat, he sits on the deck, eyes crossed.
"I...I'm not hungry..." He shakes his head, water dripping onto the deck. Then he throws up, splashing her boots.
"If it's not going to take too much time," Jade replies to Karz.
"You will eat and you will drink, or we will lea... OH GROSS!!"
Jade takes a deep breath in, lets it out, and tries again. "You will eat and drink, or we will leave without you. This is the one chance I'm going to offer you to change your life for the better, because we're not going to return to this place any time soon."
She places a hand under Brew's chin and forces him to look at her, speaking harshly to him, "You want work? I have work for you. It'll be dangerous, but it will be a thousandfold more worthwhile than wasting your life by drinking it away."
Jade lets go of Brew and lets her words sink in a moment before adding, in a more gentle voice, "At least you threw up most of that gin... Just eat half the rations now. I have something else planned to sober you up, and you'll just throw the food up again if you eat it all in one go."
Brew groans something, coughs over the side, and washes his mouth out with water. Slowly he starts to eat and drink while saying, 'My head...my head hurts really badly."
"Uhu," Jade responds, "I imagine it does..."
As Jade waits for Brew to get some more food in she asks, in a somewhat slow voice that's easy to follow, "I trust you've not had any more problems with the thugs I saved you from? How's your family, didn't you borrow the money to help one of your relatives?"
Brew, still eating a bit nods his head, 'Thank you for that. I cannot thank you enough, even despite," he manages a weak smile, 'The odd dunking."
"I was able to pay off the debt, yes. Most of my family left the city however, as I gave them money. It was the only way for them to..start over. I had to stay to earn more money." He coughs a bit and adds, "It has not been going well."
Jade smiles sympathetically at Brew as she places a hand on his shoulder. "The work I offer you is dangerous, but it'll allow you to stand up for those who are less lucky than you are. We will be sailing to the Pillar, and you will stay aboard this ship while everyone else goes inside." She motions at the ship.
"You are to wait for us to return, and when we do you have one simple task: pull in the ropes that secure the ship to the dock as fast as you can. Depending on how fast your headache's going I may ask you to start raising the sails as well, but even just reeling those other ropes in will get us moving faster. For we will take more people with us on our way out than on our way in, and if the Aspis notices it they'll attack us."
Before she lets her words sink in and awaits Brew's reaction, Jade quickly adds, "We're not going to free criminals. We're going to free good people who shouldn't be in the prison."
The drunkard looks up from the deck, eyes still a bit distant. 'Isn't that what every criminal says? takes a rare man to admit he belongs in jail.."
He sits back, leaning against the ship's rail. "I think I can do what we ask. What happens after though? We'll be fugitives you know, even if we leave Magnimar. the Aspis have arms everywhere..."
"We'll sail the seas as pirates, free slaves everywhere, and defeat the evil that plagues these lands. We'll make the world a better place one step at a time."
Jade waves a hand in the air. "I'm kind of on the Aspis's naughty list already and I'm doing fine so far. Even ate supper at their main headquarters." She adds a wink.
"Okay, looks like you ate and drank some. Leave the rest for later. I've heard exercise helps to battle intoxication, to get it out of your system. So we're going to do some, and then we hop aboard and set sail. I want to be on the water again as soon as possible."
"First are push ups!" Jade declares, and points at the floor with a wicked grin. "Come on, get to it! I'll join you once we get to the stretches, I can't do push ups."
Jade then has Brew do some sit ups, lets him run back and forth on the dock, and has him do some squats. She makes sure he puts some pace in it, not wanting to spend much more time at their current location, but makes sure he doesn't overdo it.
Jade's wicked grin grows. "I guess that means you can do it better? Come on, show it then!"
Brew slowly goes through the workouts and Jade sees although the man is sick and far gone, he once has muscle. The exercise seems to breath some new life into the drunken man.
Jean is far too canny to be caught laughing but Karz is. The half-orc merely laughs her orders though and says, "Make me, Jade. Make me."
Jade, still grinning at Karz, shakes her head as she jokingly says, "You're already awake so I'll let you get away with it this time."
She turns to look at Brew and feels her spirit lift. It will take some time, but Jade has a feeling he could become a valuable member of her crew if he regained the muscle he apparently once had.
"You're doing great, Brew! We'll move on to some stretches now," she comments once Brew's done with the exercises she gave him. "Stretching's good for removing toxics from your muscles and preventing muscle aches. I hope it'll help you work some of the alcohol out of your body."
"I'll actually join you for these. Just follow my example. If you can't stretch as far as me, just try to stretch as far as possible."
Jade bends over and touches the floor with the palms of her hands, keeping her legs straight. She then stands back up and moves her legs apart, slowly lowering herself until she's sitting in a split. As Jade goes through several yoga-like positions she constantly checks how Brew's doing, and will show him what to do if he can't copy her.
"If you can't lower yourself in a split, just lower yourself as far as possible. And instead of then grabbing hold of your foot with both hands, just try to grab your leg as close to your foot as possible."
After a minute or five Jade stops the stretching exercises. "Alright... time to go. How do you feel now, Brew? Any better?"