Allende mans the bilges chuckling over Fipp's predicament. Someone really got him, and it couldn't happen to better person. he thinks.
He is diligent at his task.
The job gets done and he actually ends the day in a good mood.
Again Connor is tasked with repairing the rigging. I dont get it, how hard is it to keep this stuff repaired, these other people I swear must not know what they are doing.
Connor keeps a close eye on Fipps and Amamer cursing himself that he cannot keep a close eye on Fipps and the other crew.
Ashrem has no problem completing his assigned tasks. When evening comes Plugg and Scourge let Sandman out of the Sweatbox, but before they release him they bang on the sides of the metal box with a belaying pin making it ring like a bell.
Sandra Quinn is waiting not far away. When Sandman emerges from the box under his own power (to the disgust of Plugg, and Scourge)she grins at the Scarred Half-orc. When Plugg and Scourge leave she brings Sandman a large leather tankard.
It's water She says. I figured you could use some after being in there all day. You handled that better than I expected most have to be drug out of the sweatbox after a full day inside.
As evening falls, Allie dutifully assists Kroop in serving fish stew to the crew.
As the rum rations are poured, she once again feigns filling her own mug, and goes through the motions of drinking nothing,
After serving is completed, she approaches Amamer.
"Soooooooo,' she says, lacing her arm through the other woman's. "What did you and Fipps chat about, today?"
As Allie approaches her, Amamer smiles.
"Blah blah blah, you'll regret it, witch, blah blah blah." She shrugs her shoulders. "I don't think he wants to be our friend.
"This one, though," she turns towards Maheem and nods her head. "I think could be won over."
She walks over to him, smiling, and sits, sipping her rum. "They had me swabbing the decks all day," she says, sighing wearily. "With Fipps, of all people. As if it wasn't bad enough he tried to get me whipped yesterday. I know we're all pirates, but snitching on one shipmate and stealing from another?" she shakes her head. "I'm glad you're not that sort of man. Are you?"
Sandman stretches and pops his back, akin the water with a smile. "Many thanks." he said to Sandra.
He seemed no worse for wear and was in good spirits. "I I had known defiance would earn me a day off, I would have done it sooner." he chuckled to the cleric.
After drinking his fill he went to find Anamer. "Are you alright? Nothing more happened to you?"
Connor will casually make his way over towards Amamer and drink down his rum.
You were lucky.Sandara tells Sandman. If the Captain weren't so hurt for crew Plugg is likely to have keelhauled you for doing something like that.
"I hope it won't come to that," Amamer says to Maheem with a friendly smile. "But it's good to know there's at least one honorable man on board. And here comes another." She stands up as Sandman approaches.
"I've never been better," she says to him, giving him a hug and adding in a soft whisper.. "Next time, let me take my licks. Sandara and Allende won't let any of us die, and I don't want you getting any more attention from Plugg."
You were lucky.Sandara tells Sandman. If the Captain weren't so hurt for crew Plugg is likely to have keelhauled you for doing something like that.
Sandman shrugged. "I have been keel hauled before. These fools are going to have to get a lot more creative if they want to teach me something new about pain." It wasn't bravado he spoke with, nor even a hint of pride. Just the words of a man who had been through enough terrible things not to be afraid of them anymore.
He nodded to Anamer though. "As you wish."
"You won't be keel-hauled, again, if I can help it," Allie replies, trying to appear brave.
Sandman smiled. "A fierce little cat you are. Thank you. It is not an experience I recommend."
When Plugg keel hauls some one he counts slow. They did someone a few days after I came on board. Sandara says No one could have survived that long under. Not without magic.
Sandman gives a smile and a small wink. "I'll keep that in mind."
The rest of the night passes uneventfully even Sandman sleeps well untroubled by strange dreams. The new day dawn bright and cool. There are a few clouds in the sky but they are high and far away. The wind is fresh and tastes of the sea.
The crew is first ordered to launch the ships jolly boat. When the jolly boat is launched and secured to the side of the ship. The rest of the crew is sent to their daily tasks. You are ordered to report to the ships Master gunner Riaris Krine. You find the Master Gunner waiting at the foot of the poop deck.
Krine’s skin is darkened from countless days on deck under the sun, and her nose has the appearance of having been broken several times over. One of her legs has been replaced with a wooden peg leg, the result of a wayward catapult shot that took off her leg below the knee. when she opens her mouth to address the group you are amazed at the stream of profanity that pours forth. It is almost as if every other word is vulgar.
She explains in her ear searing way that today you will be learning how to board a ship using grappling hook. Sandman and Connor will go first and are ordered into the Jolly boat. The rest of you are ordered to wait at the side of the ship and when Sandman and Connor try cross to the ship from the jolly boat you are to throw things at them and try to make the fall into the water.
Rulebook 155) requires a ranged attack roll,
treating the hook as a thrown weapon with a range
increment of 10 feet. The Wormwood’s rail is AC 5. At 40
feet away, the PCs have a –6 on their attack rolls. Once
the hook is set, the PC must tie off the rope as a move
action, then shimmy along the rope, requiring DC 15
Climb checks. As they climb, the others aboard the
Wormwood hurl a variety of rotting food, garbage, empty
bottles, and buckets of bilgewater at the PCs. These items
(which count as improvised weapons) do no damage, but
any character struck must make a DC 10 Reflex save or
lose his grip and fall into the water.
Krine tells you that anyone who fails to make it back onboard the Wormwood in three tries will get six rope bashes as punishment when the training is finished.
This should be fun, if only the people back home could see me, a real pirate, and no damn curse to speak of. Connor starts to swing the grappling hook and let's it fly.
Connor is embarrassed as he doesn't even make it to the boat, ashamed he tries again.
Again, Connor cannot even make it to the boat, maybe I shouldn't have doubted the curse, Connor is no extremely embarrassed and getting very frustrated so he swings it around his head a few times and let's the grappling hook fly.
This time he hits the boat, but it fails to catch on,
Finally after 5 tries he gets the grappling hook set, he ties the rope to the jolly boat and ensures that it is tight, [i] now here is my time to shine. [/dice]
Sandman nods, thinking that there were better ways to board a ship, but willing to go along with it.
Sandman's grapple just barely catches and grabs onto the wood. He whispers a quick incantation as he ties off the rope for luck and starts climbing.
He doesn't make it far before falling back down to the small boat. He immediately tries again.
He makes it a little farther before he falls, seems to be getting irritated, but tries again.
After a lot of scrabbling, trying to find purchase on the side of the wet hull that keeps shifting as the ship rolls, he finally lets go of the rope and shakes his head.
"This is not working. Will someone please throw my grapple back to me? I need to fix this."
Allie picks up one of the grappling hooks and hurls it toward the rail of the ship.
She sighs with relief as it just barely manages to catch-hold.
Tying off the line, she then begins the process of climbing:
About halfway across, a lucky throw lands half a head of moldy cabbage down the front of her blouse. She stops, hooks the line across the backs of her knees and hangs upside-down, holding the top of her blouse open to shake out the moldy produce. She then reaches up and re-esablishes her grip on the line, and quickly makes it the rest of the way across.
Once safely on deck, she deliberately adjusts herself and slowly re-ties the front lace of her blouse.
"Ugh, moldy cabbage!" she grimaces. "Oh, what I wouldn't give for a hot bath and a full body massage with warm sandlewood oil..."
On Connor and Sandman's turns:
Allie looks down at the crate full of nasty garbage, trying to decide what she could manage to throw at her comrades. She selects a couple of squishy, rotten tomatoes and decides to wing them in Connor's direction.
She covers her mouth and chuckles, as it smacks into the back of his head.
Better stop at that, he's your friend, and he'll be throwing at you next!
Seeing the Sandman starting his climb, Allie can't bring herself to deliberately hit the man, after the amount of suffering he had endured for her and for Amamer, but she guesses that failing to throw something would result in a lashing.
She selects a couple of large, smelly fish heads, and throws them, close enough to look like she was trying, but not actually succeed in hitting him.
or
Allende starts laughingly tossing clamshells at the 'boarders', twice at Conner while far away and once at Sandman while closer.
The clamshells aerodymanic properties surprise even Allende.
"Damn' he swears under his breath, thinking That worked better than I intended.
After completely failing to climb the rope as instructed, Sandman had tied a few knots along it's length. Once his feet had something to brace against that wasn't a slippery, moving hull, he had a much easier time of things.
Sandman hits the water with a huge slash and sputters as he climbs back into the small boat to try again.
It takes him a while to get going…
After another fall he tries again…
And again ends up in the water.
After three more times in the drink he hands the rope back to Krine. "I am clearly doing something wrong. Would you mind demonstrating the proper way of doing this?
Connor needs to make one reflex check. So does Sandman.
Connor gets hit with a clamshell and curses under his breath, Allende I will get you back smiles Connor as he is able to hold on to the rope, barely.
Amamer is fairly confident she'll be getting lashed this evening, so she throws a dead octopus at Sandman's head, hoping it will somehow remind him not to antagonize the officers.
Allende sees Conner smile and grins right back, thankful that Conner didn't fall. "Well I know who will be the his target when the time comes he thinks.
When Krine doesn't respond he shakes his head, ties a few more knots and tries again.
He gets five feet up and falls back down three times.
Then he almost makes it and falls back down.
Finally it looks like he's about to make it!
But he's struck by disgusting garbage and falls in the drink.
The swaying of the boat gets the better of him a few more times.
Again he nearly makes it to the top!
Connor manages to complete the task fairly quickly, but Sandman struggles with the climb along the rope to the ship, but eventually makes it. Riaris Krine curses him soundly then loudly declares that she will show you how it is done. once she gets the grappling hook fastened to the ship she starts the climb. She struggles breifly at the start but soon get the feel of it back and quickly makes it to the deck of the Wormwood. Her slip at the begining of her own climb has convinced her that she may have been too hard on them to begin with. It took her a moment to remember the trick too it. Allie and Amamer are ordered to try next.
[I] This is going to be fun, [I] Connor grabs some hard bread that he finds laying around and a few shells and casually tosses them at Allie and Amamer, not really trying to hit either of them, but not wanting to look like he isn't trying as to not get in trouble.
Amamer takes a deep breath and stares at the Wormwood, before swinging the grappling hook over her head and letting it sail out and hook onto the railing. She looks surprised, but says nothing. Instead she hooks her leg over the rope and begins to move along it, hand over hand, ignoring the lobbed muck that sails from the Wormwood at her.
Soon, she slips over the rail and hops to her feet, looking at the others and shrugging.
"Not as bad as I feared," she says.
Sandman was not happy. This exercise was not very informative, and throwing things at his friends would not help them learn. It would only make it more likely that they would be flogged. He threw garbage down near the climbers, but made no real attempt to hit them.
Allie and Amamer both manage to make the boarding on their first try thanks to the examples of Sandman and Connor, and thanks to none of their mates making much of an effort to hit them as they climbed aboard. Riaris calls for the next two to come attempt the boarding.
the grapple catches on the first throw.
Ashrem slips several times making the climb.
Allie throws vegetables down over the side, but doesn't really try to hit Allende or Ashrem.
or
"Arrgh! Take that ya scallywags!" she cries, in a truly terrible impression of every pirate from every story she had ever heard.
Allende whispers a prayer to Besmara before beginning and then takes the rope and attempts to grapple the ship.
He then tries to shimmy up the rope
He does very well until a banana peel hits him in the face and he slips.
Connor throws several pieces of garbage at Allende
Take that! Smiles Connor as he attempts to hit Allende, for pay back.
Allende and Ashrem also manage to make the climb with out to much difficulty and with out getting hit by any of the detritus thrown by their friends. Riaris complains that you were all too slow but can't complain about your technique at least once you were actually shown how to do it. Because she didn't show you how to do it correctly from the start she is not going to hold it against those that had difficulty. She dismisses you all for the rest of the day. No one gets punished.
Allie returns to the galley and checks on Kroop. She is concerned about whether or not he is sober, and has the evening meal prepared. If not, she gets to work. If he has matters in hand, then she will do some "exploring.'
Sandman stomps off without a word and spends an hour or so adding to the carvings on his mask. The wood ripples when the light catches it, showing a faint sheen of light blue and dark purple.
When he is finished, he's as happy and cheerful as he usually is.
Allende walks up to Conner and Sandman after he climbs aboard. "Sorry about the clam shells. Who knew they'd fly so well."
Sandman just shrugs. "I'm glad it was just clamshells and not something worse."
Haha it was a good shot, and I am jealous that I couldn't return the favor, smiles Connor as he slaps Allende on the shoulder.
"I'm sure you'll get your chance." Allende replies. "Any idea who set Fipps up? That was pure genius."
the evening meal is uneventful, at least there is no official ship business.
After determining that Kroop had the evening meal under control, Allie uses her down time to go on a little treasure hunt.
Allie decides to go picking about the crew lockers again. She decides to take a peak at what Fipps Chumlett has in his locker.
The rum clearly has gone to Amamer's head again, and while she approaches Maheem with every intention of winning him over, she sits down and falls asleep before she can interject herself into the conversation.
Ashrem had been silent and reflective over the past few days.
We have a damn good crew that's quite capable of more if it weren't for Mr. Plugg always trying to bring us down. Even the Captain doesn't seem to be that competent. Things would be so much better if we could run this ship ourselves...
Ashrem had been thinking deeply about staging a mutiny aboard the ship but didn't quite trust talking to anyone about it just yet. Allende he considered to be a good man. Conner and the Sandman seemed to be as well. Allie, he wasn't too sure about. She seemed too flirtatious with everyone but he could sense good intentions about her. Amamer seemed to not be able to handle her alcohol well which worried him but she seemed more prone to sleeping than loosening her tongue up to gossip. Sandara has already been more than helpful since he first came aboard. Looking around at everyone gathered about him at dinner compared to the small group around Scourge and Plugg convinced him that he had the right idea in mind. Now he just needed to work out a plan and wait for the right opportunity.
After dinner, he motions to Allende, Connor, and the Sandman. "Gentlemen, may I have a word with you in private?" he asks them discreetly.
"Of course." Sandman said with a wide smile. "What is on your mind?"