It is an awkward fit getting together. Sorry about that >.<To San:
The man wipes his brow and takes a seat.
"My name is Armando Vellorio. I am a merchant dealing in foodstuffs around the various plantations of Turquoise Bay. I have but one ship, the carrack Jade Sunset. Recently, I had sent her to the south end of Turquoise Bay to the small town of Shoalsbreak to pick up several loads of tobacco and sugar I had contracted from the local planters. She never made it there. There have been no bad storms of late, and I have not gotten any offer of ransom on her. Her loss is ruinous to my business, and I need a party of stout souls to travel to Shoalsbreak to see if they can find out anything about her disappearance."
Armando waves at the waitress and orders two fingers of Pykish single malt neat. He also offers to pay for a round.
Magnus looks,... depressed.
"Sadly, I am forced to admit a most limited set of skills when it comes to sailing vessels. It comprises exclusively of appreciating the sailing skills of others, or of doing what I'm told by an actual sailor." He manages to almost contrite.
"So,... perhaps actually re-taking the Razor is a tad ambitious? While I'd love to give the client more than he asked for and actually return the ship, we were only hired to see if we could discover what happened to it." The elf glances at the guarded docks.
"Oo it makes me ill to contemplate that the culprits might escape with the ship and the goods, and whatever ELSE they are up to, by the time that 'proper' authorities can arrive to properly reclaim the razor." He frowns poutily.
"Well then we should get to the laugh, or else try to flee town, one or the other. We may convince the captain to flee the port, especially with out knowledge of piracy and the Sahuagin army."
Magnus points at the dock.
"Well, the Laugh is right there, and the exit from town considerably farther away, so the most expeditious retreat is down the dock!" The elf smiles.
"I guess it IS important that we get other the knowledge of what we have discovered." Magnus admits, looking vaguely disappointed.
"I'd have preferred the more glorious route, I am writing a ballad after all, but reefing the ship only to be murdered by Sahuagin marauders is a decidedly less epic twist to the tail, and one I'd prefer not to sing. Especially as Sahuagins aren't known for their music and are unlikely to share the song. I shouldn't mind dying if my music lives on. For this reason alone I think we should consider fleeing."
"Agreed. Let's give this place the ... never mind. Let's just get to the ship and get the hells out of here."
Magnus tilts his head in what seems to be agreement, as he is smirking as well.
"Alas, your epic ballad shall have to wait. Or at least contain a verse about how our heroes valiantly turned from fleeting glory of battle to carry their news of foul shape-shifters to protect the greater good!"
Egan whistles for Whisperwing to come to him, and prepares to follow the others.
"Agreed. Let's give this place the ... never mind. Let's just get to the ship and get the hells out of here."
Magnus grins, then nods, puts on his 'serious face', and steps with authority down the docks. He walks like an elf with places to be.
The party walks down the docks as if they had no care in the world. The docks are a bit livelier than the town, with crews ashore enjoying liberty in the dockside brothels and taverns. A tavern with Sengenise characters on its sign catches their eye. They see at least one crewman from the Laugh lounging outside sharing a pipe with some other patrons atop a few barrels.
Magnus looks at the others,. and nods his head in the direction of the Laugh's sailor that he recognized.
"Lady Luck is with us?" He says cheerfully, if not entirely convinced.
"I think the trick will be getting them to leave now, after little shore time. Do we have enough gold to 'persuade' them if necessary? Or do we go the honest route and tell them House Akkavin's pissed off, and since they could now be connected with us, it's in everyone's best interest to skedaddle?"
Magnus jiggles his woefully low purse, and shrugs.
"Well, they say honesty is the best policy. if not always easy, it is at least usually entertaining!" He grins.
"Shall we find the captain first? Or the Mate perhaps? and let them know? Rather than blabbing the news aloud in a crowded tavern,...?"
"Alright. But ... and I know this'll come as a shock ... I tend to rub people the wrong way at times. Maybe you or Kessel should do the talking. Or even Citlali; hard to say no to a pretty lady." San gives her a quick wink.
"Noooo!" Magnus says in melodramatic fashion, placing a hand over his heart. He winks at San.
"Not to worry Master San, We've got this!" Magnus says cheerfully.
He seems very chipper for an elf in between a rock and a hard place, as it were.
He's either looking forward to the challenge, or a drink in the bar.
The party sits and quietly discusses options outside the Sengenese bar. A thin man sidles up to them, his lips and mouth an odd shade of purple
DC local knowledge 15
"Youse need sumpin, bros?" He says, his Sengenese accent broadening the words with a nasal bray
"We're looking to collect our crew, there's a storm brewing and I think we're like to be at sea to try to out run the squall."
Kessel pauses, then notes what the man is chewing:
"That's Lai root, you pick it or buy it? I've heard that it's good for sea sickness, and seeing as we could be in for a heck of a storm it might be useful to have some."
The man smiles, revealing purple-stained teeth
"I gots a line on it, bro, should you want some. It grows out in the Blackwraith Desert, I gots connections with the Black Caravan Guild. "
He cocks his head and looks at Kessel
"What ship youse looking for? Toss me a few silver and I'll see if I can find 'em"
The man smiles, revealing purple-stained teeth
"I gots a line on it, bro, should you want some. It grows out in the Blackwraith Desert, I gots connections with the Black Caravan Guild. "
He cocks his head and looks at Kessel
"What ship youse looking for? Toss me a few silver and I'll see if I can find 'em"
Magnus tilts his head as he peers at the man, trying to get a read on him. It is tricky, Magnus usually does not pay much attention to anyone who isn't paying HIM attention first.
But the elvish dandy is JUST paranoid enough to be cautious of anyone in this town offering to help. Although he DID ask for money, so he's likely just looking for an easy mark. Someone to beg coin from, and then claim he couldn't fins who they were looking for,... Probably,...
The man smiles, revealing purple-stained teeth
"I gots a line on it, bro, should you want some. It grows out in the Blackwraith Desert, I gots connections with the Black Caravan Guild. "
He cocks his head and looks at Kessel
"What ship youse looking for? Toss me a few silver and I'll see if I can find 'em"
d20+1
Magnus tilts his head as he peers at the man, trying to get a read on him. It is tricky, Magnus usually does not pay much attention to anyone who isn't paying HIM attention first.
But the elvish dandy is JUST paranoid enough to be cautious of anyone in this town offering to help. Although he DID ask for money, so he's likely just looking for an easy mark. Someone to beg coin from, and then claim he couldn't fins who they were looking for,... Probably,...
He seems a fairly sleazy individual. The best bet would likely be to offer a reward rather than any up-front coin
Magnus takes his cue from Kessel's nod, and tells the would-be helpful fellow that they seek the crew of the Laugh. Showing him the 2 promised gold coins he shall earn upon his return. And asks who his favorite root vendor is with a wink.
When the man departs, Magnus nods his thanks to Kessel, and looks longingly at the pub door.
"I don't suppose we could, erm, should wait inside? To stay out of sight of the mob our friend has gathered?" He asks hopefully.
The man nods
"I'll be right out. I can get youse a lid* of good Purple* for 5 gold"
*
"You're in luck, we don't have time to haggle, get our crew and our drugs and we'll give you seven gold. Keep in mind we're in a hurry."
The man nods and darts back into the bar. He returns ten minutes later with a small canvas bag and First Mate Shao of the Laugh. Shao has been drinking, but he looks to be holding up relatively well. The man collects his 7 GP, hands the bag to Kessel and departs. Shao stares at the party.
"Huh. I thought youse guys were gone off to adventure. What do you need?"
"We have accidentally uncovered a Akkavin plot involving kidnapping, piracy, murder, lycanthropes, and the use of Sahuagin monsters. This port isn't safe. Seeing as they know what ship we arrived on your crew may also now be at risk, for that we can only apologize, I would recommend fleeing port with all haste, but should you decided to ignore our warnings and stay we will need to flee into the ruins because they cannot chance allowing us to live."
"Oh, and I think they're already looking for us, so yeah ... haste." San says, almost with a smirk on his face.
Shao blanches, his hefty round face showing fear
"The Sharks? Youse guys are messin' wit' da Sharks? Sweet Kwan Yin's peach pit!"
He frowns
"I oughta drop youse off at their warehouse, but cào nǐ zǔ zōng shí bā dài those jerks!"
"Yes. Exactly." Magnus says pleasantly. He doesn't speak the local lingo, but it's pretty clear from the universal tone what the man said.
First Mate Shao looks exasperated, his jowled face frowning
"Cap'n Quo is gonna be pissed. Well, better get back to the Laugh. Wait here a sec."
He disappears back into the bar, then returns with several inebriated crewmen in tow
"C'mon, lets scram"
The group heads to a beached longboat on the beach. The crew pushes it off the black sand beach and begins rowing to the distant moored Laugh. They arrive and scramble up the rigging.
On deck side First Mate Shao disappears, returning in a few minutes with a sleepy Capt Quo. The captain looks over the blood-spattered group
"What have you got my ship involved in, bèn dàn?"
"Something I'd wish we weren't involved in, but it can't be helped, and I knew you had to be warned. We could have skipped town, left you to your fates, but that would have weighed heavily. It's possible that they would have assumed you had nothing to do with this incident, but seeing as we know they've pirated and claimed one boat, with an implication that they may have a fleet of pirated vessels, we decided that we couldn't risk it.
"It's your ship and your call captain, I'd advise fleeing port with all haste, but you might stay and we'd have to flee for the safety of the ruins, traveling inland. It would be a gamble for both of us, but I'd think that even house Akkavin wouldn't be so bold as to seize your ship whilst in port. However beware of delays leaving port as it may be a set up for piracy at sea. That is should you stay."
"Yeah, your call ... keep us or kick us. I think we're better off together and out of here, but like my friend said, it's your ship. Just make your decision quick, 'cause they're comin'."
"Yeah so no preasure or anything."
"Something I'd wish we weren't involved in, but it can't be helped, and I knew you had to be warned. We could have skipped town, left you to your fates, but that would have weighed heavily. It's possible that they would have assumed you had nothing to do with this incident, but seeing as we know they've pirated and claimed one boat, with an implication that they may have a fleet of pirated vessels, we decided that we couldn't risk it.
"It's your ship and your call captain, I'd advise fleeing port with all haste, but you might stay and we'd have to flee for the safety of the ruins, traveling inland. It would be a gamble for both of us, but I'd think that even house Akkavin wouldn't be so bold as to seize your ship whilst in port. However beware of delays leaving port as it may be a set up for piracy at sea. That is should you stay."
The captain looks aggrieved
"I've been in port for all of a day. I have goods and cargo yet to load and unload. Sailing will cause me no end of financial misfortune."
He pauses and spits over the rail
"Méi bànfǎ. Better a ruined voyage than a lost ship. "
He turns to Shao
"Send crew ashore, police up the rest of the shore leave parties. No word, tell them there is a problem and leave it at that. I want to be sailing on the ebb tide."
He turns to the party, a forbidding frown on his face.
"You lot can bunk in the bilge. I don't want to see your faces before we get to Opal."
Magnus bows to the captain like a courtier.
"Of course sir." He agrees amiably.
The flamboyant elf has no intention of 'bunking in the bilge' (even he knows what THAT is), but recognizes the wisdom of not ticking off their ride before removing themselves from a sticky situation.
The magus assures himself that there will be plenty of time to win the man back over with his charms after a while back at sea.
After a few hours of hurried and furtive preparation, the Laugh sails off on the ebb tide. Three-penny Port's harbor falls behind as they enter the Sargasso Sea once again.
Dawn breaks with an open ocean and a good wind. The party has been given hammocks to string up in the deepest holds of the ship. The area is damp and miasmic, with a standing foot of stagnant water that never seems to drain despite the bilge pump being manned constantly.
Capt. Quo steers his vessel from the aft deck, his short burly form assisted by a riser set beneath the ship's wheel. Any of the party that remain above deck are looked at in a hostile fashion. Obviously the crew is not pleased about their trip being cut short
Egan will once again trail one of his longboats behind the ship. Whisperwing senses the tension on board, and spends much of his time sitting on the trailing craft, keeping watch.
Egan just tries to stay out of the way, until they reach the safety of land once again.
Magnus probably makes one or two furtive forays onto deck, (when the captain's not there) but does not wish to incur the wrath of their hosts/ride, so he retreats with a bow once it becomes obvious his presence is not welcome.
But he does try, just to get a breath of fresh air once in a while.
Easing back into a hammock, and seemingly ignoring the stench in the bilge, San spends most of his time with one of his remaining bottles of cheap rum. "Gotta remember to stock up FIRST at the next landing, before we get ourselves into any more messes," he remarks to himself.
The rest of the journey is uneventful. The Laugh arrives in Opal harbor midday, gliding up to a mooring amongst a dozen other traders. Captain Quo arranges a longboat for the party to disembark on. He looks on at them with a scowl
"Youse guys have really made some bad enemies if you are tangling with the Sharks. Watch your back, is all I'm sayin'. Oh, and I don't know you."
The longboat deposits them on a pier in the Driftwood District. A crowd of longshoremen and sailors bustle across the planks, hauling cargo hither and yon
[dice=random]1d6
[dice=nonrandom]1d6
The rest of the journey is uneventful. The Laugh arrives in Opal harbor midday, gliding up to a mooring amongst a dozen other traders. Captain Quo arranges a longboat for the party to disembark on. He looks on at them with a scowl
"Youse guys have really made some bad enemies if you are tangling with the Sharks. Watch your back, is all I'm sayin'. Oh, and I don't know you."
The longboat deposits them on a pier in the Driftwood District. A crowd of longshoremen and sailors bustle across the planks, hauling cargo hither and yon
From the dock, Magnus doffs his wide-brimmed feathered, (slightly droopy after the time in the bilge) hat with a low bow to the captain.
"For a man I've never met, all I can say is you run a fine ship captain! Thank you for the safe journey. And for not feeding us to the 'Sharks'." He grins.
"Hopefully in return, we can help make the seas a little safer for you and your fellows!"
The elf turns to the others. "I suppose if we're to do that, we should report to our erstwhile employer the circumstances of his ship. Although I could certainly use a good bath first!"
The business office of their employer Armando Vellorio lies further inside the city. The party begins to move towards it.
Opal is alive with bustling crowds. The party begins to leave the docks, and they nimbly avoid the piles of dinosaur dung that clog the streets. Slow surly Lumpers with their armored hides and clubbed tails haul wagons of produce and bolts of cloth down the streets towards the waiting ships. The sound of the morning prayer callers ring out from the many tall slender prayer towers that dot the city's buildings.
"Come to pray! The Feathered Serpent awaits! Prayer is good for you! All praise Quetzalcoatl, first of the Teotl!"
Laughing young maidens in short silk dresses of a dozen colors haul water in waxed wicker baskets above their heads. Merchants call out, their waving arms and exaggerated movements directly descended from their Vellasian forefathers.
Armondo's shipping office is quiet. The man himself is busy writing when they arrive, he looks up and starts
"Ah, you have returned! Did you find out anything about my ship?"
Magnus smiles as they pass down the crowded street. He takes in the bustling crowds and the aromas, from vendors scorching unidentifiable meat on skewers to the Dino dung and everything in between, like he is enjoying the bouquet of a fine wine.
"I love to travel. But it's always great coming back!" He declares to the others.
"Especially in one piece!" He adds jovially.
In the office of their employer, Magnus notes the man's start, they hadn't exactly snuck into Armondo's offices. Was it because Armondo was surprised to see them? No, he was just being paranoid again. Occupational hazard to be certain, and it had saved his life more than once, but most days it was just an annoying habit.
"Ah, you have returned! Did you find out anything about my ship?"
Magnus grins and doffs his wide-brimmed hat. How he kept managing to replace that ridiculously long feather was still a mystery.
"Indeed we did sir! Indeed we did! And have we got a tale for you! Adventure on the high seas! Piracy! Swashbuckling and Derring-Do! It's very exciting. I can't wait to hear Kessel tell it!" Magnus grins, bowing and stepping aside to allow the bard in front.
"Seeing as this is a job and not a performance I shall not hold you in suspense, as Magnus has already stated we discovered your ship, but sadly we were not in the position to retrieve it. The house Akkavin has your ship The Green Razor and now it's been renamed The Jade Sunset. It was last seen in Three penny Port. The captain was named Mene Mahalo, perhaps the name means something to you?"
As San passes by the man calling the faithful of Quetzalcoatl to pray, his fingers slip absentmindedly to the small wooden carving of a feathered serpent on a string around his wrist. His eyes briefly glance almost longingly in the direction of the call, only for his mind to pull them back to the task at hand. And where was the Feathered Serpent when your friends were slaughtered in the jungle? When your parents were overrun? Why do you continue to follow him? The thoughts were almost like a second person in his head, and since fleeing House Akkavin, had begun to get stronger. He let go of the crude symbol, and continued on with the task at hand.
Once at Armondo's office, San seems even more sullen than normal. Letting Magnus and Kessel take the lead, he still can't help but add, "Yeah, and we only barely made it out of that port with our skins still attached. Man-sharks and a whole city of people out for blood. And an entire ship's crew also not our biggest fans now, considering their much-earned shore rest was cut to a few hours, instead of days."
"There are other worries concerning Three Penny Port, besides the Akkavin weresharks, the pirating, and their spies and gangs of murderers and thugs that we managed to out maneuver before they could abduct us or slaughter us in our sleep: they also have an army of Sahuagin. I shouldn't think a direct assault on the port advisable to retrieve your ship without a considerable fleet backing you up anyways. I doubt you'd be interested in our miraculous escape."