Balsooma roars at the remaining sailor: "Thrown your weapon down and we won't throw you to the sharks."
Cieran fires his crossbow into the mists before moving over to give the prisoner a chance to prove his loyalties. The young man unties the odd fellow with a warning.
In reaction to being freed, Belor summons some of the energy from within himself before sending a spark of it firing at the officer.
With Balsooma standing right before him, and the warped other pikeman nearby, the officer drops his boarding pike and steps closer to both of the men. He instead draws twin short swords, swinging one of them at Balsooma. The blade finds the man in the mists, leaving a thin red line across his thigh.
Round 14:
Kelly - Charged Sailor 1
Balsooma - Charged Sailor 1
Holgur - Missed sailor 1
Ciera - Moved, yelled at captive
Belor - Cast Jolt, hit Sailor 1
Sailor 1 - 6 damage, hit Balsooma
There does not seem to be any immediate threat to the wheel, and the Captain could appear again at any moment. And Holgur does not want to be flayed alive for lollygagging when he should be fighting. So he draws his flail and makes for the last enemy sailor.
Once he closes the distance, Holgur lets loose with his flail at the man's mid-section. But his swing is too early and the Rahadoumi dodges it with ease.
Attack
Miss chance
Kelly see's the dropped weapon, already curious as to its properties, he is split on what action to take, he decides not to scramble, but instead start moving his way slowly around the combat to the dropped pike. He takes a step behind his friend, he stabs at the dual wielding agent.
Seeing a bit of blood still dripping from his friend's wounds, Kelly also decides he should see to tending him as well. As he maneuvers around he pulls a vial from its place on his pouch and calls to his ally, "Balsooma, here drink this, it will close those wounds."
Balsooma glances over at Kelly, and shakes his head: "Only a scratch, it seems." Turning back to the sailor he grins. "Let me show you how it's done."
Ciera, seeing that the others are all concentrating on the sailor, simply reloads her crossbow and prepares to shoot at any new threats.
Hear the response from his comrade, Kelly turns his attentions toward Holgur, "You care to take this swig?" he intones as he quirks an eye.
"Gladly!" Holgur replies with a grin.
The sailor seems pleased with himself after his cut on Balsooma, and Kelly's subsequent whiff with his own weapon. Then Balsooma hits him hard, and rattles him pretty badly, a bright red stain growing along the chest of his uniform. He keeps looking between the space between the boats into the water, and the three men facing him now.
Round 15:
Ciera - Moved, yelled at captive
Belor - Cast Jolt, hit Sailor 1
Sailor 1 - 16 damage, hit Balsooma
Kelly - Moved, missed Sailor 1, drew extract of CLW
Balsooma - Hit Sailor 1 for 10
Holgur - Moved up, missed sailor 1
Ciera continues to scan the deck for any new threats (readied action to shoot) and to keep an eye on Belor in case of betrayal.
Jolt:
Miss:
Cieran mans the aft deck, ready to fire at anyone that threatens the position, or fire on the newly released captive if he tries to do something stupid.
He actually contines to try and assault the lone man the others face off against. He conjures more electrically charged energy from the air, before firing it far from its mark in an attempt to hit the officer.
The officer takes stock of his situation. He makes one last ditch swing at Balsooma, before dancing away nimbly to jump from the side of the ship into the water below. He looks to have decided that he trusted his fate better with the sharks than with the pirates taking over the ship.
-Combat Over-
"Oy, that was a surprise" Holgur says after the Rahadoumi jumps over the side.
"Let's get back to the wheel before the Captain returns." Just mentioning Captain Harrigan seems to bring a slight shiver to the burly pirate so he decides to change the subject. Balsooma, how bad are ye hurt? Kelly, Ciera, what about yous two?" Then turning to Belor he asks "Do you think the rest the crew of this ship will jump the side rather than surrender?"
Kelly jabs his pike into the decking in frustration, causing it to stand erect, as he does he issues forth a shout, and watches annoyed that the opponent has gotten away. He also wanders over to where the dropped pike of the enemy lies and picks it up, examining it. "See what gear and loot you can recover friends, this maybe the only time we get to see to our own gain, I have a feeling between the captains share, and scourges interference, this will be all the reward we will be seeing from this day. If'n ye be needing a healing draught, let me know."
"Ye are thinking like a real pirate now, Kelly.
Holgur looks about for swag but keeps his eyes peeled for officers of the Wormwood.
Ciera replaces her daggers in her wrist-sheathes and resets the springs. Once that is done she moves over to a sailor's body and begins to search it. Looking up at their new companion So what's yer story? How is it you found herself on a Rhahadoumi ship Bein attacked by pirates?
Belor is a man of average height and weight, he defintely is not a looker but there is something about him that makes him easy to get along with. You can tell by looking at him that he is quite grungy and his days at sea haven't exactly been nice on him, his hair is knotty and strewn all over the place. Belor's eyes though are what set him apart from any normal ship fairing person, they have a dark blue hue to them which reflects his inate stormborn powers. Belor wears a set of robes with a hooded cloak, his cloak has streaks of lighting bolts and it appears from his look that he embraces his stormborn powers. Belor enjoys the thrill of combat but prefers to do so from a distance. He conjures up spells that are in tune with his inate powers. If he does find himself in close combat he has a bayonet fixed to his crossbow that he can use with deadly efficiency.
Belor turns to the untrusting lad "Because you chose to attack the Rhahadoumi ship I was on, Thats how."
"And it looks like we beat yer crew are taking over the ship. Likely, our Captain will press you into service aboard the Wormwood. If ye got any skills, that would be helpful to ye. It would be real helpful to ye to have some friends, because the Wormwood is a floating prison with right awful bastards for officers. And most of the crew aint much better."
As you all catch your breath, and gather some of your things, the fog finally dissipates. As it begins to clear, you are able to see much of the crew of The Wormwood all gathering a line of prisoners. They bring them forth to parade them before Captain Harrigan. Others of the crew come up from belowdecks, bearing various types of goods being carried by Man's Promise.
With the fight over, many of the prisoners are bound to the rails, masts, or taken to the bilges. The rest of the ship begins to celebrate the victory, indulging in the fine foods and drink from the plundered ship. This is when Captain Harrigan pulls his top officers aside to divvy up the loot. Before the party gets too wild, the officers emerge to award those for their part in the attack.
The Captain announces,
"This would be a good time to snoop around. Maybe one of the officers might blurt out something that he does not want us to hear. I also want to know what they plan to do with the Man's Promise. If there is a port around, they might sell it. If not, Harrigan will probably add it to his fleet. Can you call two ships a fleet? If that is the case then they will have to divvy up the crew between the two ships."
"With all the drinking and noise, this could be a dangerous time for us. Should some rat-bastard want to put a knife in you, this is the perfect time to do it. Of course, it is a good time for us to do the same to one of them."
DAYTIME ACTION: SNEAK
The announcement of drinking and celebration provide a priceless opportunity for sneaking about and seeing what would otherwise not be seen. "If anything valuable was left below deck on the 'Promise now is the time to find out. Probably these rat-bastards scoured it clean, but they might have missed something or left something big in the hold. I am going down to check it out. Anyone want to come along?"
EVENING ACTION: SNEAK
"Some of the prisoners will be pressed into service. This might be a chance to see which of 'em are useful for gettin' to know, before the others pull them into their camps."
So Holgur winds his way through the revelers on the Wormwood toward the brig. He wants to see how many prisoners were taken and what kind of shape they are in. With every step he keeps his eyes peeled for the officers and other hostiles.
Take 10 on Stealth for 15 total. With all the commotion, this might be a good result.
Holgur manages to make his way through all the revelry down to the hold of the captured ship, but it looks like the pirate crew was very thorough in clearing the place out. All that remains is a water barrel, and some empty weapons racks, that when filled would make for a formidable ship.
Later he tries to get a feel for the prisoner situation. There appear to be roughly just shy of twenty prisoners. By his count there are sixteen or seventeen of them clustered in the bilges, or strapped to the mast.
Belor disapointed by the fact that he is labeled as a prisoner though he fought with the wormwood crew will not be taking any actions.
On the first night Ciera spends her time carousing with the crew, spending her time with Skrimshaw Jack as subtly as possible. Getting quite drunk, she heads to bed and sleeps soundly through the night. She spends the next day drinking, but does remember her promise to Grok to return the crossbow which she offers to buy from the stores. That night, merry and uninhibited after a day's drinking, she performs in front of the crew, using the high lines of the ship to perform an impromptu high-wire act .
If she has time between these activities she will make sure that she takes fresh water to the prisoners, checking that none are too badly hurt.
Night 1: Influence NPC: Jack (Diplomacy:
Dead of Night 1: Sleep
Day 2: Return to Grok & buy crossbow
Night 2: Entertain Crew (Perform: )
Dead of Night 2: Sleep
Balsooma spends the two days in a state of welcome relaxation. He drinks with the crew, swapping stories of life in the Shackles, always with his ears open for a new pirate tale or two. He notices that by this point, near-obvious lines have been drawn amongst the crew as to who likes them, and who does not.
At some point on the second day he'll wander down to visit Grok at her shop, and see if he might be able to spend any of his new-won gold on anything fit for a pirate such as he: "Got to spend it while you have it, it seems. Never know when fortune'll turn for the worse."
Holgur also sees the wisdom in visiting the stores.It is likely that some of the enemy crew's gear has made its way there.
Cieran spends some more time around Jack, and he smiles kindly appearing to enjoy the company of the other young man. They got off to a rough start the first time, but he seems to have warmed up to the way Cieran talks to him.
By the time Cieran returns to the ropes to entertain the crew, most of them are well soused and he hears just as many jeers for him to fall as he does cheers. Most of the crew though doesn't even notice he's up there.
Hmmm,.. Can't afford crossbow so...
Ciera returns the crossbow to Grok, with thanks. She looks over the stores and selects the masterwork theives' tools which she secrets in a small pocket sewn into her shirt. As she's leaving she spies a battered tricorn hat which she grabs as well and, struck by a sudden thought, a sewing kit.
At dawn, a few hours after the celebration finally winds down, the ship’s bell sounds, calling all hands on deck. When the crew is assembled, a long line of captured officers and sailors from the Man’s Promise are brought on deck and paraded before the crew.
Captain Harrigan addresses the captives first, offering a place on The Wormwood’s crew for any who want to throw their lot in with pirates. Several of the Rahadoumi sailors step forward; Master Scourge cuts their bonds, and the sailors take their places among The Wormwood’s crew.
Harrigan then turns to address The Wormwood’s crew. “All right, you scurvy tars! You’ve done a right good job by me—we’ve got a second ship now, and she’s quite a prize from the looks of her. But I still have only one crew. So here’s the plan—The Wormwood will sail on to our planned destination with our new shipmates here, while Mr. Plugg will pick a skeleton crew to sail the Man’s Promise to Port Peril, where she’ll be worth a pretty penny as salvage."
“As for these fine fellows here” Harrigan gestures at the remainder of the captured ship’s crew “some of them will no doubt be worth a hefty ransom from their families back in Azir. And for the rest, if the life of a pirate’s not for them, they can spend the rest of their lives at sea!”
To make his point, Harrigan grabs one of the Rahadoumi sailors and throws her overboard to the accompaniment of cheers and laughter from The Wormwood’s crew. As the unfortunate woman sinks beneath the waves, many of the remaining sailors scramble to swear their loyalty to Harrigan.
The officers are led belowdecks and the crew begins to disperse to their daily tasks. As they do, Mr. Plugg and Master Scourge pick out several of The Wormwood’s original crew, telling them to be aboard the Man’s Promise within 10 minutes to set sail for Port Peril. All of you are chosen to join the skeleton crew as well, and Scourge smiles evilly at you as he picks you.
When Scourge, Plugg and anyone allied to them is out of ear-shot Holgur motions for the others to draw close. He speaks in a low tone, intending for his voice not to carry. "We have just gone from bad to worse. Harrigan's law against killing crew members was probably the only thing we had on our side against these pieces of filth." He gestures with his head in the direction that Scourge and Plugg went in. "That don't apply no more. Once the Wormwood is far from us we either kill them or they kill us."
"I reckon he's got some kind of plan t' git us." Ciera whispers back to Holgur and the others. "We'd best make sure we git 'im first! Stay sharp, watch yer backs, and each others' I reckon!"
With that she runs down to her locker to grab any remaining gear. Stopping on her way to say a quick goodbye to any of friends that weren't selected to join the skeleton crew.
As Mr. Plugg calls out the names of those to be going with him to the Man's Promise, crewmen begin to dash about collect their things, and carry out the order.
When Grok hears that Ambrose is going, she gives the man a big hug, and does the same for the rest of you when you are called as well. She protests about it bothering her, "Damn this salt air, set my eyes to watering. I'm gonna go find something to dry them on."
With the groups split into two crews, there appear to be just enough to manage the ship with only a little more difficulty. This means that the work will be harder, but there is at least enough crew to man the ship with a little leeway just in case.
Balsooma will pick out two flasks of holy water, and two flasks of alchemist's fire from amongst Grok's stores. "Never hurts to be prepared, it seems."
When the new ship's crew is announced, the freshly-weathered lines from the last two weeks on Balsooma's face deepen in thought. He turns to his companions, nodding in approval of Holgur and Cieran's comments. "At least Harrigan had principles. Mr. Plugg is a blown-up puffer fish of a coward. We must take care to chart our own course to safer harbours, no matter how bloody the waters."
As they take their leave of Grok, he lifts her off the deck in an immense hug. "Besmara's blessing upon you. May the seas treat you like a pirate queen until we meet again. Perhaps by then, I'll have scars of my own to tell tall tails about." He grins broadly. "I also swear to keep Ambrose safe from whatever perils may chance our boat, be they from outside, or from his bottle."
As the Man’s Promise sets sail, acting captain Mr. Plugg and his first mate Master Scourge gather the crew together to inform them that although this is a new ship, the rules are the same, though discipline on the Man’s Promise will be a good deal harsher than on the lackadaisical Wormwood; all crimes are now punishable with the cat instead of the whip. All of the crew keep the same jobs they had before on the Wormwood, but they will have to work a good deal harder, as the crew is smaller.
Holgur is assigned to the upper rigging work. Possibly the most dangerous rigger job at fifty feet above deck working amongst the sails. With him is Maheem, the one Rahadoumi they started out with, bearing his usual permanent scowl.
Kelly is assigned to the filthy work of making sure the bilges are clean, but it can't be all bad. Working alongside him is Rosie, whose mouth is one of the few things dirtier than the bilges themselves.
Cieran is handed the job of hauling rope again. One of the jobs that has seen the young man rather ragged by the end of the day before. All things considered, though, he gets to work with his friend young Jack Scrimshaw.
Belor, previously one of the prisoners taken from this very ship, now is just given some job from the roster. Given the level of trust they must have for him, he is assigned to the bilges with Kelly and Rosie.
Balsooma seems to be the lucky one, as is has mostly been since becoming the cook's mate. Ambrose is down about missing his good friend Grok, but says that the cooking will help him take his mind off it. He keeps heading toward the bottle, but it only takes a little urging from Balsooma to keep him from sinking into it.
Profession (Sailor) working diligently
Con check
All day in the hot sun with nothing but effin' Maheen and his ugly face to look at Holgur thinks as he familiarizes himself with the riggings of the Man's Promise. He concentrates on his work in order to avoid taking a fifty foot plunge to the deck below. If I did fall it would only be though Besmara's blessing that I should land on Plugg and Scourge. In the course of the day he also checks the riggings for any damage that might have occured, either in the battle with the Wormwood or at other times.
All the while he keeps an eye out for Maheen. Certainly Plugg and Scourge will want to have another try on Holgur's life. Only the fact that the crew is short-handed will give him any protection for now.
Perception to watch maheen
But the wind and the latter's movements conspire to keep Holgur's eye from catching mutch. Frustrated, Holgur later takes an opportunity to look at the ship as a whole. Riggers can often note things that are not apparent from the level of the deck, either about the ship or the doings of the crew.
Perception to note anything about the ship or events on deck
Blasted wind! And how did these idiot Rahadoumis ever get this ship moving with all these loose ropes flapping about. No wonder they were such a soft target.
As Holgur works around the lines, it's hard to keep an eye on much. Being the first day the ship moves out after the battle and two day stop, the sails and lines really need to be worked to make it back into the best working order.
As Belor is working in bilges he tries to strike up a conversation with Kelly in between deep breathes of exhaustion, obviously Belor isnt quite used to this line of work. "I just wanted to say thanks for not killing me during the ship raid, if you ever need anything don't hesitate to come ask. I owe ya one."
Ciera works as hard as she can, happy to be working alongside Jack - it was lovely hat they'd made friends - just a putty that he still thought she was a boy! - well there was no way she would trust Plugg and Scourge weren't to be trusted.....
Profession sailor:
Con (work diligently):
When the group has a moment after completing their tasks Holgur tells them. "I didn't see anything from up in the riggings. That bastard Maheen kept to himself and didn't look like he was up to anything. What about the rest of you? Did you notice anything unusual?"
After the others relate whatever they have to say he brings up a new subject. "What about this swag here? I aint smart enough to figure how to divvy it up. Those of you with better knowledge of numbers and such could do a better job. But if there is anything left over, how about we throw dice for it? Leaving it to chance that way avoids any sore feelings about anyone not getting what he is due. What do you say?"
Kelly doesn't talk much during work, as the work seems to be too much for all of those doing it. It seems like the ship may have been damaged a little during the attack, because Rosie and the two men barely seem to be making any headway in getting the bilges emptied. He just simply replies, "I don't think I helped you all that much. You're here in the bilges with me aren't you?"
--------
As the work day ends it seems Mr. Plugg could almost be considered cheerful. As it gets to the Bloody Hour, he calls out the names of those that have earned stripes. He calls Cieran for her shoddy work on the lines, and Kelly for his inability to get the bilges cleared out. As he said when he gave the rules for 'his' crew, he uses the cat instead of the whip. Master Scourge looks a little upset, just because Mr. Plugg will be delivering the punishment instead of Scourge himself.
Mr. Plugg actually laughs joyfully when his strikes cause the two to become unconscious from the pain, especially enjoying the great gashes he dug into Cieran on the last hit.
After bloody hour, as dusk falls over the ship and you see Mr. Plugg watch the sails of the Wormwood vanish over the horizon, he turns with a nasty sneer towards the rest of the crew. "I don't believe in this drunk and beligerent crew. There will be no rum, and no crew entertainment on MY ship. You worthless sacks of dung need to work harder if you expect to be any use, and make it as my crew. Anyone, and I mean anyone, caught above decks after dusk without leave will get six lashes with the cat. Now Fishguts, why don't you slop out that crap you call food so everyone can get out of my sight, and off my deck."
"Blast that bastard Scourge, and blast me for giving him a reason to lash me. My own fault that allowed him to do it, last thing we need is to give him reason to visit us harm. Here friends as I seem to have been too distracted I should make sure these pieces of generosity from the captain should be put to the best use we can. Each of you take one of these potions, they should serve you well, should you need them, I can provide for myself, and at time, I am a bit more durable than my frail frame suggests. Also Cieran, take this other potion, I feel it would serve best someone with your talents. Balsooma I will entrust this amulet to you to do with what you think is best."
When the Bloody Hour ends, Holgur is quick to scoop up Ciera before any of the other scum on this ship can lay hands on him. At the least, unfriendly crew might swipe something. Or they might open the wounds more and then "accidentally" drop him down the stairs on the way below.
Holgur stands nearby as Balsooma picks up Kelly. The two of them should be enough to keep any hostile crew members at bay. But Holgur remains on guard just in case.
When they are below deck and Kelly gives out his potions Holgur thanks him for it. In a low voice he asks "If you can make this kind of thing, can you make poisons as well? They might come in handy."
Still whispering to the others he asks "Do ye think we can count on enough hands on our side against Plugg and Scourge? The only way we are going to leave this ship alive is by mutiny. But with a short-handed crew, like we have now, we can't risk spilling too much blood or we will not have enough sailors to sail the ship anywhere. That would be trading a quick death for a slow one."
After Belor sees his first taste of Mr. Plugg he quickly gains a hatred for the way he treats his crew. Belor comes out of his silence and responds to the group."Look I know some of you might not quite trust me yet, but after what just happened I will fight side by side with you all. My magic is your magic. Let us use it well."
Sorry. Need to get back into the habit of posting at work to retain consistency, else I've been leaving it too late.
Balsooma spends the day in the galley, sitting between Ambrose and his bottles. The hours pass pockmarked with sour conversation, as disappointment with the new ship causes any attempt at jovial discussion to sink quicker than a rock.
"You think Scourge and Plugg will let us be?" Balsooma finally asks Ambrose. "How many do you need to sail a ship like this one?"
Later on that evening, having seen Cieran and Kelly's brutal punishment in the bloody hour, he assists Holgur in retrieving the beaten pair and getting them below decks.
He nods at Holgur's words. "The lines are drawn, it seems, and everyone knows it. It's us against them, it just depends on who is bold enough to strike the first, cursed blow."
After hearing Belor's statement, he raises an eyebrow at the man, considering him with a new appreciation: "Magic, you say? What sort of powers can you bring to bear? Would they suit a more treacherous, or a more upfront approach to solving this mess?"