Ha! Looks like Titus is handling the sea like a pro.
Palatable or plentiful, both would seem like they'd help the majority down here, to be honest though, after speaking with some of the sailors, they say you get used to it after a couple of days, you might hang on to it for those that don't.
Rorse smirks at the Lilo and then as if he just noticing the hammock between theres and The Girl that went along with it.
Having about the same tact and skill with the ladies as Titus, Rorse callously introduces himself and his new friends.Hi Hickory, hope you don't mind my intruding on your introduction Lilo, but I figure its gonna be a long ride, might as well get it out of the way. I'm Sir Rorse Grainbreaker, Our new friends here are Jyke, Maris and Fara Tweedlebottom. If you’d be inclined to honor Hobart’s request I’d like to hear some of Falchions work myself, learning about the people before we get there could be very helpful and I bet that it’d do wonders for the Morale around here. in a lower tone he’ll add, I suppose it’d be best to stick to the positive parts if there is anything terrible in there.
Seeing that Lilo’s charm is going to good use else where Rorse decides on using his ‘considerable’ charm on one of the bosses on deck instead.
Rorse will seek out Lord Brycen but will settle for Grumpy hooves the centaur if he has too.
Looks like Rorse is good by day four and five and Vero is apparently a sea wolf.
Eriniyes hopes she takes to the sea well. She will save her herbs for the second day after a successful save.
Fortitude:
Fortitude:
Fortitude:
Fortitude:
Fortitude:
Lord Brycen is in conference with the captain and first mate and not to be disturbed, so Rorse is forced to settle with Sir Kheiron, who can be found in his "cabin". Sir Kheiron's "stall" is to be found at the aft part of the upper hold and looks essentially like part of a stable that was hastily walled in. You can smell straw and manure and hear the bleat of sheep and clucks of chickens coming from the next room. There is no bed or hammock in this room; rather, a large sling is suspended from the ceiling, though Sir Kheiron is not currently in it.
Good evening, Sir Rorse. To what do I owe the pleasure of your company?
If diffused into a tea would it still help the same or could We help more folks?
here are my first two fort checks hopefully I won't need any more.
Cmon day three
I gave two doses to Wat I needed three. That leaves me with three if anyone needs or wants them. If Hobart thinks he can make a tea that will help more people he will do that instead.
I gave two doses to Wat I needed three. That leaves me with three if anyone needs or wants them. If Hobart thinks he can make a tea that will help more people he will do that instead.
A tea could give three people a +2 bonus.
AH, Sir Kheiron, Just the Centaur I was looking for. I was wondering if you would mind if we tried to organize a bit for when we run into trouble. I am sure it is a matter of time before we hit a storm or someone sees our fat ship and decides we should be looted. That said if you don’t have something in mind already, I was thinking that we could organize it so that in the case of an emergency, we use one latter for down and the other ladder for up. so that any fighters below can all go up one way and those on deck and not staying for a fight can go down with ease. The Halfling pauses and waits for input before springing into his next bit of organization. My other curiosity, is would it be worth putting the time in to trying to get some of us passengers to learn some of the sailing trade, in the event that we can capture a ship trying to capture us?” he then scratched his chin there was something else… Ah, and lastly you must only, lets us know if, if something needs doing.
the whole time Rorse is trying not to seem like he is looking so far up. and he certainly isn't having a conversation with the Centuars hooves.
Sir Kheiron sighs and looks weary, though whether it is due to a long day or Rorse's company is uncertain.
Sir Rorse, he replies diplomatically to the first thing Rorse says, I appreciate you bringing your concerns to...oh hang it. He drops the diplomacy. Just how stupid do you think we all are? I suppose we should take it as a validation of our performance that you actually think we're going to try to make it through the Arch, let alone all the way to Arcadia, like this, stuffed to the gills. The Desert Rose and the Cloud Climber are waiting for us in a small cove on the north side of Kortos. We'll be there in the wee hours of the morning, where we'll transfer over all the supplies and personnel destined for the other two ships. As far as any Chelish spies on shore in Absalom are concerned, we are being led by an unpredictable and inexperienced commander who doesn't listen to his advisors or understand how things work at sea. Maybe they saw us heading east instead of west and will think that we've gone back to Cassomir for back-up, or even better, given up the whole idea. In any event, our arrival time at the Arch is now in question, which is the best we could hope to achieve at this point.
As for letting you know if something needs doing, you can count on it. We will be counting on your skills and abilities, as well as those of your companions, when we encounter actual trouble and when we arrive in Arcadia, but until then, please...PLEASE...just leave things to the team of very smart people who have been planning this expedition for almost a year!
No, I take part of that back. There is something valuable you can do in the meantime; I need eyes and ears down below to find our on-board Chelish spy.
Rorse lets out a breathe of relief It wasn’t that I thought you were all stupid, but well the seeming proof and action was telling me different, I was thinking more along the lines that you were all absolutely insane. Obviously I was trying to think of anything I could to help relieve some of the crampt area. And to be perfectly honest I was worried about our odds of surviving as a colony on the other side if this was how we were starting this whole voyage. He Grin’s up at Kheiron This conversation has done wonders for my confidence in what you Gentlemen have in store for us.
Rorse then listens to a bit of chastising, if they didn’t act like they needed to be lead then perhaps he wouldn’t be up here, offering tactics.
Rorse puts up his hands in surrender! If I didn’t think you were all out of your minds, I wouldn’t have bothered in the first place. Though if we manage to kill all the pirates on an enemy vessel I expect that we should have enough sailors to spare to man a fourth? he replies with a wink.
A fierce look washes over Rorse features. Do we have any more than the fact that there is a spy on board to go on? Rorse rubs at his baby smooth chin and then nods Regardless consider them caught
After taking in what Kheiron has to offer and just before he turns away, he will offer this last comment to Kheiron. Give my compliments to the Captain and Lord Brycen, not a major role, but you weren’t so bad yourself.
I know you are trying to get cozy with the prisoners, and it's admirable that you want to reform them, but you should know, their presence on this expedition has been bought and paid for, and not by us. We were supposed to get a much tamer group of prisoners - an arsonist, a grave robber, a vigilante, and a Chelish operative, though that guy was not my first choice, but at least we would have had a good idea of who our spy was then. Instead, somebody paid off a magistrate to let those prisoners keep rotting in jail and sent us a pile of murderers and rapists to repatriate in the New World.
Just keep an eye on them.
It just makes sense to me to try to patch up the weak spots before they become holes in the fabric of the colony. New beginnings are hardly new, if you still have to make up for the old. I’ll keep two eyes on them and then some. It might be a bit tricky, but we’ll find our spy and have em in the saltwater before you know it. There are so many could be’s, though that it is going to make it difficult to pin down who. I’m on the case!
Rorse squints his eyes and turns about face, studying everyone he passes on the way back to the hold. If the old centaur was trying to distract him, he did a great job, but it would bite him on his fly flinging tail in the end when Rorse had the whole ship profiled. If he knew better he’d feel bad about what he was about to inflict on the whole of this ship.
Just as Sir Kheiron promised, the Lady Iona heaves to in the wee hours of the morning, and you are all awakened by soldiers, who come to collect the prisoners to help with loading. All able bodied colonists are also "requested" to come up top and assist with the loading as well.
If any of you take them up on their "request", bright light assails your eyes when you get above deck. Brightly glowing balls of light emanate from halfway up the foremast of your ship, as well as the masts of two other ships. Off the starboard bow is a ship of Rahadoumi origins, three-masted and larger than the Lady Iona with the name Desert Rose written on its hull, and off the port bow is a much smaller two-masted ship of Andoren origins named the Cloud Climber. Small rowboats are already in the water, either moving supplies to the other ships, or coming back from them.
Dawn is breaking over the aft deck when you finish the transfer and the ship feels positively roomy afterwards. Despite the pre-dawn hours of hard labour, crew morale is extremely high; people seem excited to be doing something, and as the news gets around that this is all part of a cunning plan by the colonial leaders to foil the evil Chelish privateers at the Arch, morale goes even higher. Even the usually-silent father-to-be Maxalis is laughing and joking around, and the prisoners don't sneer at you with quite as much enthusiasm as normal. Once you are finished, you all manage to get back down below for some much needed shut-eye. As you're settling into your hammocks, you hear the screeching sound of the anchor chain being raised and the ocean swells resume the nauseating rocking motion some of you are starting to get used to (but others haven't yet).
When Rorse got to the lower deck he moved around gingerly whispering secrets into all of the group he could find, Even enryies got to find out, He considered telling wat and Chase, but he would tell them later after discussing matters with the group.
What he whispers to those in specific.
Hobart, Rommin,Erinyes: Good news and bad news, I'm whispering for a reason so don't go blabbing. We are meeting the other ships in the middle of the night, it was a trick to avoid trouble. but on the down side old hoofs up deck suspects there is a spy on board, he asks us to keep an eye on the prisoners and try to find the spy.
Lilo:can you keep a secret? you smell like the backside of a mule.." rorses hands shoot up defensively " I'm just kidding, I do have a pair of secrets though if you can keep em."
Waiting for Lilo to agree he cautiously tells the first of the pair. "we are to meet the missing ships in the middle of the night, it was actually all a big part of some plot to full any Chels. smart stuff." if he doesn't blurt anything out he will set the other halfling on the hunt with him. Kheiron also believes that the chels have a spy on board, we are to find the spy, and then we get to hlep make them regret coming aboard.
He looks for the loners as well, if Corvus and Titus will let him whisper in thier ears, he will tell them the news ahead of time.and then set them on figuring out who the spy is as well.
Titus and Corvus:Hey if you have a second I have some news. he then will whisper the ears of the willing out of the pair. Good news and bad news, I'm whispering for a reason so don't go blabbing. We are meeting the other ships in the middle of the night, it was a trick to avoid trouble. but on the down side old hoofs up deck suspects there is a spy on board, he asks us to keep an eye on the prisoners and try to find the spy.he takes a breathlook we are family now, we escaped that hell hole and here we are going into the wild, we are going to need a family and we are the closest that we are going to get for awhile, So stop being a lone wolf and join the pack. He tell's it to the old man and Corvus trying to draw them in a bit closer.
After all this, Sea sickness finally hits Rorse and hits him pretty hard. He will spend the rest of the day until his stomach settles impressing the rest of the group with how much a halfling's stomach can hold.
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Seemingly as the work finishes and Dawn comes, Rorse finds him self feeling much, much better. Today is going to be a good day!
Titus gladly assists in the loading of the ship, a smile on his face. It's odd to see a man enjoy hard labor this way, but when it's something optional rather than mandatory, it can be serene to work your way into fatigue. Afterward, he sits with some of the crew, enjoying the companionship that comes from putting in a hard day's work toward a similar goal.
Once Rorse makes his way toward him, he nods as the halfling whispers in his ear. He catches him with a glare that makes it seem he's about to say something, but lets it go and gets back to sitting with the crew. More espionage, more intrigue. As soon as I get out, it comes back, and Cheliax with it. I want to find this spy, if for no other reason than to break his neck.
The next day, Titus will put to work the skills that he still bears, Stealth to maneuver around, Perception to listen to conversations, all of it in different areas at different times. There isn't much of a plan at this time since there's no starting point other than "On the ship", so he's doing a general observation.
Hobart is surprised and relieved by Rorse's news. He will try to start paying attention to the actions of others listening where he can. When the call for help comes Hobart goes up top putting his strong back to good use. He also keeps an eye out for anyone who appears to be upset as most everyone seems to be happy about the situation anyone who isn't may be their spy. If he gets a chance he will quietly pass along his little insight to any of his fellows, so they can keep an eye out as well.
Eriniyes nods as Rorse tells her the information he has come across. She tries to hide a smile when hearing of the plan to join the fleet at night time. "Sneaky, Lord Brycen..."
A spy on board, hm? She nods to Rorse again and gives him a pat on the back for a job well done and for trusting her enough to share his information with her. When he leaves, she carries on with her business like nothing important was said.
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Lilo chuckles at the revelation of the plan.."So a noble with some intelligence..no wonder he wants out off Taldor"
Then his eyes narrow at the mention of Chellish Spies.
"Are we sure we don't harbour one amongst us..Rommin or that Titus guy.." he breaks off, winces under Rorse' stare and then grins.."No off course not...well the first thing is to see if anyone has a magical disguise..or any magic at all. I have a trick that might help"
He goes very still then looks around the hold slowly, carefully focusing on each quadrant in turn for a few seconds before moving on.
He spends the rest off his time carrying buckets for Rorse and any off the other halflings who are suffering.
Lilo detects no magical auras in the lower hold.
It was just dawn of the 10th of Gozran when you finished transferring the supplies. You sleep till close to noon and enjoy a fairly uneventful day as you and your two sister ships head steadily westward towards the Arch and Arcadia beyond.
The Tweedlebottoms seem to settle in well, as do the expectant Dorsetts and other colonists who came aboard in Absalom. Hickory seems to be weathering the lurching of the ship fairly well; she spends the day lying in her hammock with a cool cloth on her forehead that she has Lilo spending all day running back and forth to keep moist. That night, Nate Hogginside summons his lute and entertains with more bawdy songs. He spots Hickory and dedicates a song to her, pertaining to a young maiden who went out to milk the cow and ended up on her back "milking" the bull instead. Hickory doesn't look impressed but she stops Lilo's (almost assured) angry response at the affront, climbs out of her hammock, onto a crate of her own and responds with a song concerning a young man who went out for a drink and drank so much he accidentally swallowed his own genitals...The families down below look affronted slightly, though the single guys think it hilarious and Kuras thinks it very funny that Nate got showed up a bit. Nate, for his part, scowls slightly, but bows to Hickory in a more respectful manner. She looks very smug as she reclaims her hammock (and for the record, Hickory is a much better singer than Nate, too).
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Lilo looks totally shocked at the bawdy song Hickory comes out with...then his shoulders start to shake and he begins to howl with laughter at the look of chagrin on Nate's face.
Where in Cayden's name did you learn that one Hickory?" he gasps between his laughter Not at some fancy finishing school I'll warrant
He recovers enough to hand her down from the chest and perhaps his hand holds hers for an instant more than propriety should demand.
Oh, there are a lot of fascinating things you can learn from books, she replies casually. And from other music students in Oppara.
Several days go by with very little to break up the monotony of the journey. The prisoners are allowed time above deck, two at a time for one hour each day. The pairings seem to be random and change each day.
If there is a spy on board ship, he's keeping to himself and not making trouble. Sailors and soldiers go about their daily business. Colonists tend to vary their time below decks and up on deck getting air. Your hyper-vigilance does net you a few observations you might otherwise have missed.
Hobart happens to be walking above deck passed one of the doors leading into the aft cabins when it opens and the cooper Awnia emerges, adjusting her hair and dress slightly. Hobart catches the tiniest glance of Lord Brycen's cabin door closing before Awnia shuts the outer door. Awnia's face goes blank when she sees Hobart watching her and she scurries below deck.
Both Corvus and Titus notice a farmer named Jerrys. The man never seems to speak with anybody and spends a lot of time up on deck watching the soldiers and the ballistae positions.
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Lilo spends a great deal off his time with Hickory if she has no PFS duties..he does however remain vigilant to anything untoward..most off the time the two halflings spend reading.
He does devote some time to watching how the crew work..asking the occasional pertinent question and managing to stay out off the way otherwise.If Hickory has any works in her collection pertaining to Navigation he reads them avidly.
If this farmer, Jerrys, catches Titus' attention, he'll let Rorse know the situation since he's the one who mentioned the possibility of a spy. "There's not enough to say whether or not he's an operative, but he's shady. I'll focus on him until I can rule him out. Maybe someone should find time to look through his things, someone small enough to go unnoticed in case people are watching. We can look for any paperwork or comm magic. If I find more, I'll tell you." He then leaves Rorse with a clap to his back, sending his hammock to a slight shake, then moving quickly to make sure he doesn't get any puke on him.
Titus won't make an approach to Jerrys, but he will observe from afar and watch his comings and goings.
Rorse and Vero will go ratting, It works as a great way to get into areas and snoop while looking perfectly innocent. He willl slowly work his way through the majority of the ship, taking extra time near the prison guards and Jerrys. SO while Rorse has Vero Convinced they are actually looking for Rats, he is looking for a Humanoid rat of the spyish varaity.
Perception
Handle animal
Like the others, Rorse's paranoia and heightened awareness allow him to notice things he might otherwise have missed. While scoping out the prisoners' guards (), Rorse notices Carylis with her hand inside Loban Geth's pack.
The crow's nest is certainly an excellent vantage point, and although the lurching is even stronger up there, the fresh air and quick breeze more than make up for it. The sailors on watch duty are always glad for the company, though they do seem curious as to why Rommin spends all his time looking down at the people below, instead of off to the distant horizons.
Eriniyes tries to blend in the with surroundings down below, not causing any attention to herself and slowly hiding in the many shadows down in the hold. Once she has picked a good spot to hide she starts to observe the various people around her, looking for anything suspicious, whatever that may be.
Stealth:
Perception:
A few more days pass. On the 14th of Gozran, the ship heaves to mid-morning and drops anchor out in the middle of the Inner Sea. The other two ships catch up shortly thereafter and also drop anchor. As they are arriving, all the prisoners are brought up on deck as well as all able-bodied colonists (not even a "request" this time, though it is done with sincere politeness). Lord Brycen, Captain Theodric, First Mate Theodremir, and Falcon Gray are up on the aft deck, looking out over the ship. Sir Kheiron stands at attention at the foot of one of the ladders. Once everybody has assembled, Brycen gestures to Theodric, who nods and steps forward to address the crowd.
Good morning, folks. We have a lot of work to do today, so I'll keep this brief. We are two days out from the Arch of Aroden. As you know, or can well imagine, getting through the Arch will be somewhat of a problem. It would be tough even if we were not a colonial expedition from Taldor; Chelish privateers don't usually need an excuse to attack Taldane ships, but we are an especially ripe target. The vile powers-that-be in Cheliax do not want Taldor to establish a colony outside of the Inner Sea. They like that we're trapped like animals without direct access to the Arcadian Ocean. Also, Cheliax has designs on spreading their foul beliefs and practices to the New World, just as we wish to bring it order and civilization. Chelish privateers have all been given descriptions of our fleet and its individual vessels, and let's just say that the price on our heads itself is more than ten times the value of what we carry. The Chelish pirate who takes us is probably looking at adoption into one of the wealthier Houses, so there is very little they won't risk to take us down.
He pauses for breath.
There is nothing we can do to disguise the make-up of our fleet, save one thing: division. To that end, the Desert Rose, being of Rahadoumi design, and specifically selected for that purpose, will soon leave us to join a Rahadoumi merchant marine caravan. The Chelish tend to avoid the better-armed Rahadoumi unless they see a prize particularly worth taking. The Cloud Climber will accompany them, as one more minor supply vessel will not be noticed. If we were to accompany them, however, the make-up of our little fleet would likely be detected, and all manners of Hell, as well as some of its denizens no doubt, would descend upon us. With the amount of opposition we're facing, we don't see how having two extra ships with us would really increase our chances of success.
Therefore, we are again going to resort to guile and deceit as our best weapons. This ship is to be stripped of all colours and symbols pertaining to Taldor and any other nation, to be replaced with Chelish colours, those of one of Cheliax's major Houses. That includes everything, right down to the clothes that we currently wear. Outfits of Chelish privateer wear have been obtained and will be distributed to all personnel who are to be above decks when we reach the Arch. As we speak, an alternate bowsprit is being loaded onto a launch from its secret hold in the Desert Rose. While none of us will like seeing its devilish image at our hear, it may help save our lives. Lastly, the ship's name itself is to be stricken, replaced with the Crown of Jeggare. Theodric switches to an eerily good Chelish accent. If we are parlayed with, we will sell the story of our ship as a recently-captured Taldane merchant vessel, bound for Corentyn. Sir Kheiron.
Sir Kheiron steps forward to speak. As the crew of the Crown of Jeggare, it is imperative that we do nothing to disabuse the pirates of Captain Theodric's ruse, which means we draw no attention to ourselves whatsoever. If our ruse fails, we will be forced to fight our way through. Lord Brycen and Mr. Gray both have magic which they can use to propel our ship; one spell which will give us sudden, massive bursts of speed for a few seconds, probably enough to push the ship 50 or 60 feet, and another spell which will give us longer-duration but not as extreme speed, which they have been using already from time to time to throw off the timing of our arrival. The first spell is quite violent, and we will have to be prepared. We will be having some drills later this afternoon once our cosmetic makeover is complete.
If we are attacked, we have three major threats to worry about. The first is ballistae fire shredding our sails. There is little we can do to prevent that other than taking our their scorpion crews. That will be the primary responsibility of any archers in our midst. Those of you professing that ability will report to my second, Lieutenant Andrells for instructions, again, once our makeover is complete.
The second threat will be mooring grapnels. The Chelish will being hurling thick ropes with grapnel hooks attached, trying to snag our masts and railings. For our escape magic to work at all, we cannot have any mooring lines attached. Half of you designated as melee fighters will be given axes and tasked with severing any mooring lines in your designated zones. The third threat, ironically the least worrisome, is boarders. Some pirates will attempt to swing on board. While of course, these men and women will pose a significant threat to individual lives, the bigger worry is that they will interfere with the sailors efforts to affix the sails. The sails must be affixed and lashed down securely or Lord Brycen's and Mr. Gray's magic will be useless; standard moorings will not hold up. Sailors will be drilling in that task; we need for sails to go from normal to fixed in less than thirty seconds. The other half of our meleers will be tasked with eliminating enemy boarders.
In order to maintain our illusion of being a captured vessel, the majority of our melee fighters will be kept hidden just out of view down the central ladders. They will rush up to take their posts on the signal, with reinforcements being kept below. From that point on, the foreward ladder will be designated as "up" Kheiron pauses for a nod and smirk for Rorse, while the aft ladder will be for injured personnel to retire from the battle. We don't need any liabilities up here trying to be heroes and getting in the way.
As Sir Kheiron comes to a close, you hear shouts that the launch has arrived from the Desert Rose. Lord Brycen steps forward. Good people - this will be, by far, our greatest test in this expedition. It is ironic that it should come to us so close to home. We face many hard hours of labour today; tomorrow we shall rest and celebrate life. Then, we shall take it to our enemy and show them that even against a hundred to one odds, Taldor will always be victorious! First Mate Theodremir starts up a huzzah (in case one doesn't come naturally) but he needn't have bothered as soldiers and sailors alike take up the cheer.
Within minutes, teams are organized to carry out the proscribed work; the hull is repainted and renamed, all colours are stripped and those of House Jeggare and Cheliax are run up instead. Outfits of Chelish clothing are distributed to all.
After the remodel, drills are held. First off are drills to get people into place. Meanwhile, the sailors are drilling locking down the sails. The second set of drills involves getting used to the speed boost spell. Everything in the ship is firmly lashed down and on the signal, you grab hold for dear life as Brycen and Gray take turns of throwing gust of wind spells into the sails. The sudden influx of wind into the sails is jarring to say the least, second only to the equally sudden stops as inertia takes hold again. As predicted, the six-second bursts of 50-mile per hour wind are able to push the ship about 50 feet each. Fortunately, the bursts are too short to cause much in the way of sea-sickness.
By the time drilling is complete, you are all completely exhausted.
Titus volunteers for help against boarders and grapnels. "I'm no archer, but I have no problem cracking heads." If asked to don Chelaxian colors, they look natural on him, and he needs no help knowing what goes where. Without being asked, he assists the sailors in the drills to button everything up for the speed drills. Before going to bed, he makes one more round of the ship, looking in on Jerrys especially, then heads to the hammock.
Andrells nods, working very hard to keep the edges of his mouth from twitching into a smile.
I can do a bit of everything. I am a little better at melee then ranged I also have a little healing at my disposal. I will let Sir Kheiron know my skills are at his disposal and will serve where he wants to post me. If asked where I would like to be I say that I would like to be in reserve to help with mooring grapples or rappel borders where it looks like aid is needed plus it would be easier to get to any downed men who need healing.
Well I'm good with a bow so I will put my arrows in the scorpion crews, But I think I'll set Vero to watching Hobart's back, He is Feirce and wouldn't like staying below deck while the rest of us are having fun. Rorse will throw his back into the deception and help make the ship look evil in any way, they'll let him. painting looks fun.
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Lilo listens to the noblemans speech with growing disquiet..in the end he has to step forward and ask a simple question..
"Lord Brycen...you seem to have forgotten one small fact..and that is that halflings serve only one purpose on board Chellish vessels..so to maintain your disguise when do your men come round with our slave fetters?"
He looks round the small group of halflings present then fixes the nobleman with a challenging stare.
I'd stay below deck or in a cabin, before I'll put on chains. ecspecially if we are in sight of those chell bastards.Rorse replies to Lilo question and while it is out of turn, Rorse can only be happy that he didn't say before I'll put on chains again.
An excellent point. All halflings who wish to fight shall have to be part of the reserve, hidden out of view below deck level.
Lilo nods.."Very well then reserve it is.."
As promised, the next day is a light affair for you. The Desert Rose and Cloud Climber departed from you sometime during the night for their own destiny at the Arch. You have picked up good winds (or else one of those afore-mentioned spells) and are cruising along today at an extremely fast clip. At this rate, you are told, you will be arriving just after dawn. Blind them Chelish sons of b*~~$es, one soldier comments.
That night, you party. The captain orders some of the better vittles broken out, so you eat better than you have since leaving Cassomir. Once you have finished eating, you hear cheers go up as a pair of soldiers bring down one of the rum casks, announcing that Lord Brycen has allowed extra rum rations for all, including prisoners.
As the soldiers pound the tap into the keg, you hear an unexpected tinkle of broken glass. The soldiers look puzzled and draw off some of the rum.
A strong chemical smell fills the air.
Liquid fire pours out of the keg, setting the deck planks below on fire. Soon, the entire keg of rum is burning; moments later, it explodes, sending shards of wood and burning rum scattering in all directions. People dive for cover, others frantically begin patting out small fires on their clothes.