Balsooma - still feeling the effects of last night's rum - tries to surreptitiously ditch his ration over the side of the ship.
After that , he'll head over to the crew and single one out to try and impress with an intimidating and horrifying speech about the joys of pirate life, the horrors of the Chelish Navy, and the rewards for those pirates dedicated to the mistress of the ocean - the beautiful Besmara.
As it so happens, he corners the gnomish woman, Giffer Tibbs, for his impassioned spiel.
Kelly and Holgur settle on a quiet evening, as they take their rum, and call it an early night. The crew appreciates Ciera's performance, garnering the young man a few cheers at the end.
From the manner in which Balsooma delivers his fervent sermon, the gnome stares amazed, her one unpatched eye wide in its intense gaze. You would almost think she considers Balsooma one of Besmara's own crew for the attention she gives to his speech.
---------------
Day 5:
Holgur gets tasked with handling rope work for the day, paired once again with Barefoot Samms Toppin. If she shares any interest in him, as he seems to have in her, it is difficult to tell.
Kelly gets sent to the bilges once again. Master Scourge must get a kick out of assigning the duty to him repeatedly. This time, however, it is with one of the sailors he hasn't yet worked with. She is an older half-elven woman, her gray hair shaved into stripes, and most likely the reason some of the crew call her 'Badger'. Unless it also has to do with her having a bad attitude.
It's Cieran's turn to be a runner, and now he gets the opportunity to stretch his legs going back and forth between all the officers.
Balsooma made an impression on the cook, as the drinking has been kept to a moderate level ever since Balsooma got mad at him. His resolve may be slipping though, and he looks like it was harder for him to avoid today. Nonetheless, it seems he has everything well under control, and the big man has light duty of maybe handing him an ingredient or two, or fetching utensils or cookware.
Ciera - Work Dilligently (using +4 for con check)
Acrobatics:
Con:
Taking advantage of Ambrose's fine form, Balsooma will make a token effort of helping out in the gallery, though his interest lies in shirking when he can and going over to visit Cut-Throat Grok at her store-of-sorts.
"Would be a fine thing if I could have my gear back, it seems. I, and the Lady-" he makes a gesture to his holy symbol before continuing: "-would be indebted to you. On a ship like this it is a fine thing to have: friends like me. Friends like me with their weapons, hrm?"
Holgur works at the ropes without overexerting himself.
S
P
A
C
F
S
P
Kelly has the distinct pleasure of the bilges again, which seems to be a popular place for him. Even getting out of working there yesterday, only to end up there for another job. While he works, he once again feels the sharp prick, and turns accusingly toward Badger, only to see a spider quickly scurry back up into the webs hidden in the dark corners. With his skills he is able to pinch the wound fast enough to stop the poison early, and feels like he caught it early. He continues the rest of the day working hard, being still drained from his last day of bilge duty.
Holgur decides to try his luck at ingratiating himself with the barefooted lady. He tries to keep the conversation centered around the recent activities of the Wormwood but speaks in a friendly manner and asks the lady a bit about her experiences in any of these events.
"I have heard tales of the wormwood and of Captain Harrigan before but only tavern stories. None of these tales were of recent times. One salt told me that the Chelish Navy had seized her crew and all and hauled her to Westcrown. Obviously, that aint so but I can see that the crew is a bit less than it should be. What have the last few months been like for ye here?"
Despite the ease at which Ciera makes his way about deck, he finds the work to be possibly exhausting to someone not prepared for it. Focusing on maintaining his stride and pace, he is just able to stave of fatigue.
Kelly, however, isn't as lucky. He manages to get the job done, but considering he's still recovering from the the draining last day he spent working the bilges, he's worn out by the end of it.
Grok listens to Balsooma's request, but frowns and shakes her head, "Ah can give ya yer stuff no problem, but tha' don't include yer weapons. The Cap'n aint approved ya fer 'em yet, and if'n he sees ya walkin' around armed by mah hand, then we both'll be gettin' the lash." As she talks she moves to one of her lockers, and withdraws Balsooma's gear, except for his weapons that is.
Holgur takes it a little leisurely, probably just nerves about deciding to get a little friendlier with Barefoot Samms, and she seems amenable to the conversation. "Now, I don' know 'bout any o' tha tall tales deary, I'd only been with the Wormwood a little bit. Sounds a bit far fetched if'n ya ask me. The Chelish woulda likely executed tha Cap'n if'n they had caught 'im. As fer me deary, Ah'm only a wee bit newer than yerselves, but Ah learned real quick ta stay on Plugg and Scourge's 'good' sides, and outta tha Cap'ns way, and ye'll avoid any udue hardships." The distraction of the conversation though, causes Holgur to drop a coil of lines, and fall just behind in his duties. It didn't go unnoticed.
---------
As the work day winds to an end, and thus begins Bloody Hour, Mr. Plugg addresses the crew as he does before any punishments are handed out. Captain Harrigan, as always, stands on the poop deck for it all in silent observation. Then Mr. Plugg speaks, "When out on the seas, we have to care for a ship's crew, and be prepared to ensure that they have what they need from day-to-day until we get to the next port. So, when I see people waste our already dwindling supplies, by so carelessly tossing it overboard, it makes me mad. Which is the case with our rum. Why just last night, someone went as far as to just dump it out like he was chumming for sharks." At this he points at Balsooma, then crooks a finger to call him over.
"Now, being already angry from such disregard for the Captain's orders, when I find that folks feel chit-chatting is more important than getting their job done, and the ship suffers. Now they will suffer." He directs his attention to Holgur and Samms, beckoning them forward.
With the three of them arrayed before him, he feigns being deep in thought, before having a false epiphany "You know, I'm a fair man, and I would be willing to turn my rage into a bit of sport, for everyone's entertainment. Kipper! Patch! Go get Owlbear!" Mr. Plugg and Master Scourge's two biggest bootlickers, Kipper the gunner's mate, and Patch the bosun's mate, hurry belowdecks to please the man.
They return shortly after, with the big lug that remains chained below in tow. He bears a big goofy grin, waving at the crew, still marked by patches of tar and feathers. He seems to just remember after the fact, and he flexes and growls. Mr. Plugg continues, "Owlbear here spends so much time belowdecks, he doesn't get enough time to really stretch and have a little fun. Here's what I propose, you three can wager your lashes against a little scrap with Owlbear here. One of you gets to fight him, hand-to-hand, no tricks, no magic. If you win, no lashes, you lose, you each get your share." He pauses, sure of himself, "You know what? I'd even be willing to throw some coin down on it if you win." He motions to Master Scourge, who hands him a purse, and he tosses it down on deck before the three, it lands with a enough of a thunk to indicate a decent amount of coin rests inside. "You could even pick someone who would be willing to fight for you in your place, if you are too scared to do it yourself."
Samms looks pleadingly at Holgur and Balsooma, before she speaks "Fer meself, Mr. Plugg ser, Ah'd hafta take me licks. Ah know fer certain Ah can't possibly take Owlbear."
"I assume it would not be to the death, seein' as how we constitute ship supplies in a way. If that is correct I could see my way to puttin' my hands against this fellow." Holgur nearly asks how much gold Mr. Plugg is offering but realizes that it would probably be best not to do so. Plugg would just say that he did not specify and that crew should not ask him to give a number.
Mr. Plugg looks abashed even at the insinuation, "Oh, No! Not to the death of cours. You delicate flowers are much too precious for that. Just to unconsciousness." He grins wickedly, like he is daydreaming of you laying face down on deck, bloodied and knocked senseless.
"It won't be to the death," Balsooma murmurs softly. "He couldn't have his fun whipping a corpse."
He eyes up Owlbear, trying to gauge the mettle of the tarred-and-feathered man.
Is he more of a friendly giant, or a caged beast?
"Holgur, I too am willing to fight, but I do not know who would stand a better chance: I have the strength, but you the skill, it seems."
The big lug is tough to gauge, his emotions seem to run the gamut, but one thing is for certain he is eager to please. He could very well be a gentle giant at heart, but if he's determined to please Mr. Plugg, there might beat the heart of a ruthless animal underneath.
"It won't be to the death," Balsooma murmurs softly. "He couldn't have his fun whipping a corpse."
"Holgur, I too am willing to fight, but I do not know who would stand a better chance: I have the strength, but you the skill, it seems."
displaced
"Thanks for the confidence, I hope it is not misplaced."
Kelly sees what is about to transpire. He lets out a sigh and begins to ready bandages and other first aid supplies.
Since it looks like there has been a decision of who will fight, the crew, at Kipper and Patch's prodding, moves back in order to form a ring of sorts on deck. Master Scourge stands in the middle, as a referee while all is made ready, while Mr. Plugg moves up onto the poop deck to stand beside Captain Harrigan. The Captain seems interested in the outcome, but excitement seems to belong to Mr. Plugg with his unnerving grin plain on his face.
Now that the crowds are riled and cheering, Owlbear grins big, waving at some of the sailors to include Ciera. He raises his arms and yells "OWLBEAR! HA HA!" and points to himself, nodding and grinning, pausing briefly to pop one of the small crabs he often carries between his fingers and eat the insides.
With the circle cleared, the two fighters in their place on each side of the line down the midlle, Master Scourge backs up as he raises the whip and then cracks it as he shouts "Begin!"
Owlbear is excited to get started, and despite Holgur's obvious advantage, the big lug moves as soon as the word escapes Master Scourge's lips. Much like his simple mind, he uses simple tactics, and steps forward with a heavy-handed swing at Holgur.
Sense Motive:
As the crowd gather, Ciera glances around at the crew, checking to see if anyone's missing. If satisfied that all are present, he lets the larger sailors push past him, until he's at the back of the crowd. Once there he tries to slip below decks unnoticed, and makes his way to the officer's cabin. Stopping before entering to check that its empty, and that he's not being followed.
Sneak:
Perception:
"His left! Stay on his left!" Balsooma yells to Holgur, trying to make his voice heard over the roaring and cheering of the crowd.
He then tries to make his way around the circle until he's as near to Mr. Plugg as he can be, so that he can watch to make sure the man - or his cronies - don't try to interfere with the fight.
Perception:
The force of owlbear's fist sends Holgur's senses reeling for a moment. Then he hears Balsooma's thunderous voice imploring him to move to Owlbear's left and he shuffles for a moment and looks hard at his foe.
A bad eye, eh? he thinks and begins to move in a broken rhythm to throw off the big man.
Acrobatics
When Owlbear resets his feat to throw another punch Holgur steps toward his the man's bad eye and strikes with an uppercut.
Attack
Damage if it hits
Holgur doesn't get the warning early enough to react to the new information. His return swing, however, catches Owlbear hard in the chin, and the big man looks slightly dumbstruck by the hit.
He brings another heavy swing around on Holgur, but his vision is still a little swimming from the uppercut.
Ciera easily slips into the officer's quarters, peering around at anything of interest. She doesn't find much more than Kelly had found before. Four hammocks and four pallets, each with its own footlocker. Two doors other than the two that lead on deck, most likely opening to the spaces beneath the stairs up to the foredeck. The leftmost door has a fairly obvious mechanism to launch a harpoon at the opener.
Balsooma is only able to get as near as the stairs to the poopdeck, a little below and before where Captain Harrigan and Mr. Plugg now stand. The Captain seems to be mildly interested in the fight, but Mr. Plugg looks already agitated at Holgur's solid hit on the giant.
Ciera moves over to the apparently untrapped door and carefully examines it for hidden traps.
If she finds a trap she attempts to disarm it, otherwise she attempts to pick the lock:
Holgur blinks as the punch passes his face and remembers to step to his own right and towards Owlbear's bad eye. Then he throws everything into an overhand right aimed at the big man's jaw.
Owlbear tries to shake off the building cobwebs of getting two good wallops, his jaw opening and flexing, confusion apparent on his features. Mr. Plugg, clearly irate that the fight isn't going the way he had expected, tosses a belaying pin into the circle "HIT HIM WITH IT YOU DAMNED WORTHLESS OAF!" Spittle flying in his rage. The Captain eyes his first mate with an almost dismissive smirk, obviously unconcerned about the turn that the angry man introduced.
Owlbear pauses, uncertain about what to do. He looks at Plugg, then Holgur, the pin, before he shrugs and picks it up to swing once more. As he does so, a number of the cronies you've met, and some you haven't 'oooh' at the decision, eager for more bloodshed than the fistfight had offered so far. A few, very few sadly, moan and boo softly at the move, but seem not willing to act out of either fear of the officers or fear of being outnumbered.
Owlbear swings, and a good swing at that, but Holgur is dancing around the left side that turned out to be his best protection.
Holgur curses and thinks about pulling his knife but decides that it would be suicide to do so. Instead he concentrates on moving toward his foe's blindside and pressing his attack.
Acrobatics
2 attacks
A lead right hand that falls short
And a follow up left hook that seems to land nicely
Damage
Balsooma, unable to get close enough to Mr. Plugg, will resort to taunting the man; trying to distract him from the fight so that he won't cause more trouble.
"What's wrong, Pluggy? Can't handle the heat? Last I heard, it seems the Captain doesn't want any of his crew dead. You're doing a mighty fine job of following orders."
Balsooma, unable to get close enough to Mr. Plugg, will resort to taunting the man; trying to distract him from the fight so that he won't cause more trouble.
"What's wrong, Pluggy? Can't handle the heat? Last I heard, it seems the Captain doesn't want any of his crew dead. You're doing a mighty fine job of following orders."
As Balsooma's words resound in Holgur's ears his jaw drops and he nearly forgets that he is in a fight. By Besmara that was foolhardy but brave! Likely we will both be bleeding soon. But if he is going to risk his hide for me I will not let him down.
"Ugh, and I thought I might get off just having to treat bruises tonight."
Kelly starts gathering needle and thread in addition to his burgeoning first aid supplies.
The big man is able to spin in his swing just past Holgur's right hand, but puts him turned around enough for the left to find purchase right in his kidney. In an unexpected turn of events, he drops to his knees, holds his side... and cries. as he crawls toward the edge of the ring.
Mr. Plugg, beet red with fury, turns a 'You must be out of your mind?' stare on Balsooma and his insolence, but just as he's about to speak Owlbear begins his pleading. "YOU BRAIN-DEAD IDIOT! QUIT THAT FOOLISH BLUBBERING AND BEAT HIM!" At this, one of the cronies, Fipps to be precise, pushes the big man back toward the center of the ring. But he just holds his side and cries, big wet tears making their way down his dirty cheeks.
The captain, obviously no longer interested, turns to go back to manning the wheel.
Holgur keeps his guard up uncertain whether to lay Owlbear out on the deck or let him go. Dropping him might make enemies of more crew members but seeing how they treat the big man it might not bother them at all. 'Mercy is for the rich and powerful and rich, only they can afford it' he reminds himself.
Crit confirm
Damage
Damage
At least she's not dead (yet) though.
Owlbear stays, sitting on his knees, as he takes large gulps of air to support his constant blubbering sobs. He tosses the club down, and in the fashion of a young child, poutingly tells Mr. Plugg, "No! No more fight. I go nigh-nigh now." He runs his entire forearm along his nose to wipe away the snot left running from his crying and makes his way down to the hold.
Mr. Plugg, looking as if he will explode, knows he made the bet and lost, and can't do anything about it in front of the whole crew or they just might act out. He instead yells at his bootlicks, "Kipper! Patch! Lock that retard back to the foremast, where he belongs!", and the human, and female gnome, rush after Owlbear, eager to please.
With the fight over the crowd begins to disperse, and Holgur is able to claim the winnings, and avoid stripes for Balsooma, Samms, and Himself. The bag of decent heft turns out to contain a hundred gold dubloons. Much of the crew stop by periodically, at least briefly, to congratulate the man on his success. Except for Plugg, Scourge, and their entourage, mainly Kipper, Patch, Aretta, Fipps, Jape, and Syl.
The weight of the gold surprises Holgur and he waits until the others are near enough to block anyone from seeing him open the bag before counting the coins. He tries to count the gold without taking it out and says nothing for several moments. But the grin on his face betrays his state of mind.
"Balsooma, you must have forged yourself a set of brass balls the way you insulted Plugg. That was a bigger risk than I took. I think we both might have earned some respect with the crew today."
"This much coin will garner the attention of thieves here on board. I think we will have to spend some of it get back our gear and other goods. Kelly, you must have need of some more, um" Holgur searches of a word here "stuff for your bag." A thought seems written on his bruised face.
"With more ointments and stuff you could work more healings on the crew but make them pay for anything beyond what you are obligated to do. The others might come to depend on you a bit. That gives you leverage if you can work it right."
He then looks around to see where Ciera is.
"I would congratulate you on beating that man, but I find this type of violence abhorrent. On the other hand I will congratulate you on confounding Mr. Plugg, as I find this a much more laudable achievement, good job. Now let me see about your injuries...A nice bruise, you should feel fine by morning. You looking for Cirea? I was wondering where he was, I haven't seen him since this nonsense for Plugg began. I'm going to get my meal and rum for the night, then I will be downstairs, wake me if my services are needed."
Barring any other events or Ciera's location behind discovered, Kelly will finish his grub, drink his rum normally and turn in early tonight to rid himself of the fatigue he got in the bilges today.
As the crowd thins it seems that Cieran can't be spotted anywhere. Either he slipped of somewhere, or called it an early night.
Balsooma grins broadly: "You had my lashes riding on your back too: was only right that I try to help you have a fair fight. I'd imagine Samms is feeling quite pleased too right now, to escape the whipping. Still, that's probably enough excitement for the one evening, it seems. I'm going to hit the hammock."
He then receieves his rum ration, drinks it normally, and heads below decks to rest.
Thanks for that! Now to wait to be discovered...
Holgur considers cozying up to Toppins tonight over rum but then he thinks about Mr. Plugg. That miserable bastard is going to make life unbearable for the next few days he thinks to himself. Better to get some shut-eye and with that he takes his and heads off to sleep.
The thought of the simple-minded man begging out of the fight trouble his dreams and Holgur wakes once in the night with a soreness in his jaw that tells him that he had been grinding his teeth. The pain from the fight harry sleep away for a while but in the end, fatigue wins out and he slumbers. Like to chain that rat bastard Plugg to the mast, or better yet, make him drink all the water in the bilges.
The group of new swabs, sans Cieran, decide to take their rum and call it an evening. Heading down into the hold, you see Owlbear back to being chained to place at the foremast. He stands as you enter, and tries to get your attention, He points down beside his place at the mast.
There lies Cieran, and you're all pretty certain he's not sleeping.
"Plugg's doing?"
But on closer inspection
Heal
"Kelly, he needs help."
Upon hearing the alarms of attention needed, Kelly rushes to see what is happening. At seeing the site of Holgur facing off with the brute Owlbear he seems taken aback, but looking closer he sees that Owlbear is calling attention to a downed figure, and Holgur seems to be tending the crumpled figure of Ciera. Kelly immediatly springs to action looking over the boy:
Heal:
Obviously Kelly's fatigue is weighing heavily on him still.
"What in blazes happened to this boy, what is going on here...I can't seem to find a pulse, wait, wait here it is, what caused this, I don't see any bruises, cuts, no broken bones, no burns. What happened?"
Balsooma looks around cautiously, to see if anyone is overhearing this exchange, then moves over to join the others gathered around Owlbear and Ciera.
He speaks slowly to the big man, using large gestures and a lot of pointing to get his question across: "Owlbear, where you find him?"
"I once saw something like this when a fellow pirate was shocked by an eel. Maybe I can remember what they did to help him. They pushed on his chest something like this."
Obviously, Holgur did not learn much from his past experience.
"Eels eh?"
"That would electric eels right? He's been shocked then. Fortunately his heart hasn't stopped. Let’s see if there's something I can do for him.
After an hour of effort Kelly just slumps down and sighs. "I don't think there's much I can do for her with just my meager supplies...Go and get Sandara, she's got some connections on this ship, find her and bring her here, maybe she can help." With that Kelly goes back to trying to tend his charge, but is obviously frustrated with his lack of progress.
Sandara arrives shortly after being sent for, she seems somewhat irritated at being pulled away from whatever sport she had been up to during after hours. "What in Besmara's stormy waters, have you gotten yourselves into so soon after the last trouble you caus.. Ah, bloody hell! The fool child went and got himself all kinds of hurt it would appear."
She looks Cieran over, but seems a little baffled. Regardless, she shrugs her shoulder and begins a short prayer to Besmara, laying her hands on Cieran.
She looks perturbed that her spell seemed to not be enough, and her eyebrows set in hard, determined lines. Kelly, having worked with her the most, has seen this look whenever a task seems to be more difficult than expected. A wash of salt air, and the sounds of terns can briefly be heard, and the wave of energy feels as refreshing as a cool breeze on a sunny day.
Satisfied that she's done enough, she dusts her hands, and heads back upstairs to the drinking and singing taking place above.
The display of Sandara channeling Besmara's power leaves Holgur speechless for several moments. He only recovers after she has left. "But...what...Ciera will recover?"
To Balsooma and Kelly he says "I suppose she would not have left if he was still in danger. We should get him to his hammock"
Then he turns to Owlbear and waits for him to answer Balsooma's question about how Ciera came to be there, although he already has suspicions.
Owlbear seems genuinely eager to help with Cieran, concern on his simple features, slightly masked by confusion, as he has no idea of what is actually happening. He points to the room above, the officer's quarters. When he says this last he tenses all his muslces and clenches his teeth in imitation.
"Is the scary lady an orc or a human?" Holgur doubts that he could get much more from Owlbear and, in truth, is a bit moved by pity for him.
"Take it easy boy, take it easy. You've suffered quite a trauma. Lie still a moment, make sure your heart has recovered, it seems whatever mess you stumbled into bit back, and you were fortunate enough to survive." Kelly offers his hand, but in a way to highly encourage him to sit up slowly.
Owlbear just looks at Holgur, a blank expression on his face, except for his wide eyes. As Holgur asks his question, Owlbear's response is to nod, eager to give the man an answer.