Astrianna comes aboard with Ptahh, silently thinking to herself. Interesting surname for a half-orc. Orcish translation perhaps? Wait, did Donovan just call me mate?
On the Poop deck the half-elf's eyes scan the assemblage of sailors that Sorrin is whipping into shape. Have to give him credit, Sorrin makes a good first mate. She turns her attention to the Captain and smiles. "I've done a little bit of everything on a ship, but I'm more skilled at reading maps and charting courses. But first, I think your suggestion of a song is correct. Let's get them working with a rhythm."
Astrianna sings from the Poop deck, leaning over the railing. boots stomping out a firm rhythm for the short-haul shanty.
Hey don't you see that black cloud a-risin'?
'Way haul away, we'll haul away Joe!
Hey don't you see that black cloud a-risin'?
'Way haul away, we'll haul away Joe!
Now when I was a little boy and so me mother told me,
'Way haul away, we'll haul away Joe!
That if I didn't kiss the gals me lips would all grow mouldy.
'Way haul away, we'll haul away Joe!
An' I sailed the seas for many a year not knowin' what I was missin',
Then Oi sets me sails afore the gales an' started in a-kissin'.
Once I 'ad a 'alfling girl and she was fat and lazy,
Away, haul away, Oh, haul away Joe!
But now I've got a elven one she nearly drives me crazy,
Away, haul away, Oh, haul away Joe!"
I'm assuming Zalen had not heard from Roland or Jenkie?
Wait, did Donovan just call me mate?
After Astrianna and Ptahh board with Jard she hopes up on the railing of the main deck. Her blessing this time was more a speech but it should do. Unfortunately her train of thought was a little derailed by "*snrk" Spiritmaster? She did not expect that. Once she got things back on track she spoke in a light but carrying tone. "This voyage..." she pauses a moment for them to settle down, "has many purposes. To train the landsmen. To get used to the new ship. And," she also looks to the sky, "judging by the weather, to get out of the way of the storm on the way or ride it out on open ocean rather than letting it batter the ship against the dock. But the most important purpose...is to pay our respects to Jard the Brave," she says mimicking Donovan's title for him.
"He died honorably, defending the previous ship against assault by four assailants. It is my hope he is the only casualty...but I am not that naive anymore. The sea is a dangerous place even to the most experienced crews. So here is some helpful advice. No matter what your reason for joining, do not let any opportunity go by to learn from those more experienced than you. The more knowledge you gain, the better off all of us will be. For out there," she says pointing to the open ocean, "the only ones you have to count on are the ones around you right now. Talk to them, get to know them, learn from them everything you can. As my father, a captain himself, used to say, 'It is not the ship so much as the skillful sailing that assures the prosperous voyage.' He also said 'A ship is always referred to as 'she' because it costs so much to keep one in paint and powder.' So take it for what you will."
After the laughter has died down she says a short prayer for the voyage to Quell but they probably weren't really listening to her anymore. She had said her piece. As an after thought she added. "Also, if anyone is experienced or interested in healing please come see me. Every ship can use a secondary healer."
Sorrin takes one last look on the docks, for Jenkie.
CAST LINES! PUSH OFF!
The crew somewhat preoccupied by the Chaplain's speech, nearly fails at bringing in one aft line. Then the ship is pushed off and it drifts for a couple minutes as the crew prepares to lift sail.
Captain Donovan move over to the wheel and turns it two rotations. "Docks can be a pain the arse."
The ship creaks and groans as it is moved for the first time in nearly a month. But he responds to the captain's hand. "He's all yours navigator. He needs a firm hand, but he's just being cranky." He smirks.
After the sailors take over singing their own work tunes Astrianna busies herself with the charts, checking their course once more.
Hm.. Pearl Eye Atolls. Bloodbane's Knuckles. I wonder if Commander Perrin ever found Garr Blodbane's treasure, if he really did have a map.
This reminds her of something, and she looks across the bay towards Fort Stormshield to check if Boneduece's Pride is still at Dock. Jalia, that thieving b%#&!, said the Commandant was rumored to be leaving Port soon. She could be a lying b*!*# as well.
Bri has the initial course set and she easily guides the ship, but she is a bit sloppy on the first heading change.
The Captain will advise the First Mate to get the last rigging set.
Not that she needs much help, Astrianna assist Bri in plotting a course out of Shaw.
She also assists with the Helm if the witch gets sore from fighting the cranky wheel and keeps an eye out for any wreckage not clearly marked.
Chell does not remain idle during the voyage. She runs across the deck like a veteran and points the landsmen in the right direction or tells them to get out of the way. She was a different person when working. Confident, determined, controlled. And she knew sometimes it was best to tell a bad sailor to move than have the whole ship come to a halt.
Wind Direction: East
Ship Direction: Starboard Beam Reach (90 degree angle)
Chell leads the third grouping to get the last sail raised: the jib. At his time Bri has directed the ship starboard beam reach the wind (essentially 90- degree angle) You were previously heading closed hauled (against) the wind.
Captain Donovan directs the navigator and the mate piloting the ship (Astri) to plot a heading North East (45 degrees). This will take you first into the wind (In Irons) then closed haul (against). Essentially you are fighting the wind right now, so going. the wind is strong at:
-2 sailing check
If successful,
Ship Direction: Port Closed Haul (against)
Astrianna checks the charts in the War Room and returns to the Poop Deck to give Embrianna a new heading. "Captain wants a North East heading, 45 degrees to Port!"
The crew starts to get it's sea legs under it as the morning wears on. Once the ship is solidly underway with it's three rigging areas full of sail cloth, and the Baron is out of immediate risk, the Captain will have officers gather in the wardroom. Having Bri and Astri leave an able body seaman at the wheel.
He paces the the room as officers gather. "Congratulations to a successful start of the voyage." He waits for everyone to settle down before he begins. "Right now there are 22 skilled sailors on this ship." He lets the statement sink in. "Men need to be trained but not killed, they need breaks." He eyes Sorrin and Ptahh. "That being stated you each know how many bodies it takes to run the Baron's locations effectively. I would suggest that you begin to train those Landman and incorporating them into sailing teams. That will alleviate some of the stress on the crew. Also, you need to keep someone in the crows nest perhaps develop a schedule for that."
"There are 25 marines and veterans on board." His eyes fall on Ptahh and Chell. "A mate effectively controls 20 men at a time. This ship needs some stretcher bearers that need to be trained to help the Surgeon out. Those fighting men also need to be trained. Siege engine stations, fire control, boarding and repelling teams."
Addressing Astri and Bri, "A ship needs solid navigation and helmwork, you'll need a couple sailor or able body sailors to pulls shifts at the wheel."
"Training is teamwork. Sorrin, Chell and Astri you should really focus on getting sailing and deckwork teams ready. Chell you'll also need to help Ptahh get the fighting teams ready."
Astrianna leans back in her chair in the war room. "Hopefully those landsmen are quick learners. A few too many tough types signed up than expected, but woe to any pirate that thinks this vessel will be an easy board. I'll comb the crew and see if anyone has experience at the helm."
"Aye, Aye, Captain. I'll be setting up the command structure today and start training. Chell, I'll have one squad report to you each morning for medic training and another squad report each afternoon to you for instruction on fire control. Sound good? We'll do that on a three day rotation so each a squad has time with you on each topic. How much time will you need with each squad for adequate training on each topic? I'll focus on working with them on the ballistae, as well as, boarding & repelling. I'll also schedule watches and downtime for them."
Yes, Sir.
Chell, Astrianna... When you're ready come get us, until then I'll be taking them around the boat. Explaining ship's anatomy and positions.
He moves out to round up the raw recruits and start making sailors out of them.
Sorrin finds the thirteen hapless souls and begins his tour starting a lesson on nautical jargon. Port, starboard, for, aft, different decks, ballista, different sails, ropes...
He points or those working, what they're doing and how their doing it. Fairly, he indicates simple jobs and techniques as well as advanced techniques as they come across them.
Pointing out the crow's nest he intimates it's a good job for someone who is a good climber, has a sharp eye and... isn't afraid of heights.
From time to time, he'd stop to assist someone that looked like they needed it.
It takes time and some will learn faster than others, that's too be expected. You don't get full of yourself and you don't get jealous. Everyone has a part to play, even a swabby or deck hand.
Put in the effort, practice, execute... teamwork. A good crew is one that works well together.
Ptahh rounds up the veterans and marines and brings them up on deck. "Men...and Women, we have been charged with the defense of the ship and the lives of her crew. We will train daily to defend her and to prepare to board other ships as necessary. You will also spend time Chell, our Chaplin. She will be instructing you on the healing arts. We will also train as the fire crew. Your days and nights will be split between patrol, training and downtime. Use your downtime wisely.
In the days to come, I will be dividing you up in three squads, each led by a Sargent. Those three sergeants will report to a lieutenant... who reports to me. As you will be relying on each other heavily, get to know the others in your squad and the others squads as you can. We are all brothers and sisters here. I won't tolerate insubordination, and I expect you to take all of our duties seriously. All of our lives depend on each man and woman doing their duty.
Questions?... No, good. Now here are the squad assignments..." The half-orc continues by separating them into three even squads, asking questions of each veteran marine to better understand their background and skills. Hmm... we have some good veterans here. I wonder who shall serve in command.
"Throw'd guud fuud at me, see what I do. Not apreec'ted, no I'm not. Woke up early and coooooked and t'put hot oats for everyone. Whatcha old cookie git...fuud thrown'd right back at me. You see what I do wit yer bowl, yes sir'ee. I knows, I knows."
Chop chop, pound pound sounds can be heard coming from the galley. An occassional squawk and mumbling. "fix'em guud fuud fer dinner yes, precious no grateful crew they'd be. Me fix'em guud fuud, me tries real hard." The smell of onions and garlic is strong. The cook himself, Cookie, is chopping away with a long cigarette with a hot amber is dangling from his mouth. "Not like I 'ave much 'elp don 'ere anyway."
Cookie, Cookie... Sorrin pats the man's slab of a shoulder.
I promise, better ingredients when we can. Alright? You want to see if anyone else can cook and can be your helper? I'll eat whatever you cook without complaint, but not so watery on the coffee, please. Captain Donovan likes coffee and needs a good brew. Take your time with it, perfect it.
Make you a deal... I'll learn how to cook and help you sometimes if you want. Same way, I can help sail, helm or fight. It's just as important. It affects the entire crew. Keep the faith, brother.
After Astrianna has checked their heading and ensured the helmsman wasn't passed out on the wheel or something, she finds Sorrin giving the landlubbers the tour.
Four cool balls of light follow the bard as they look through the bowels of the ship together. She stops for a moment to admire the ballista. Returning above deck Astrianna asks the landsmen a few questions.
"Listen up! Who here can read? Good... Who here has been taught their numbers and ciphers? And lastly... Who's used one of these before?" She holds up a compass.
The bard tries to see if any of the landsman have geographical or survival skills to supplement their navigation before moving on to the seaman to find some backup helmsmen.
"You no like me coffee?" He scrunches his thick brow as his ash falls in the stew pot. "I've got guud stuff here." He waves his cleaver and large two prong fork around. "Plenty guud ingredients, " He whacks down looping off the fish head. "You no cookie... you out...out!" The cleaver with fish scales clinging to it waves frantically in the air.
Six have used a compass. Apparently they know direction indicators.
"What arrr ssss...ssiphers?
"All's clear!" The lookout calls down on the hour.
Astrianna's face falls as the crew proves to be quite illiterate. "Ciphers are code and shorthand for navigation mathematics, or keys for translating hidden messages. I want the former. Hmm... Well, as long as you know directions and degrees." Won't be much good reading maps or charting courses, or using any nautical equipment. Embrianna won't have to worry about losing her job any time soon.
Astrianna picks out two from Sorrin's group that knew how to use a compass and was familiar with direction indicators. "I'm going to take two of you... and you're going to learn to helm a ship."
She takes the two and finds some of the more experienced seamen, which are being worked rather hard right now. The half-elf arranges a schedule with the Able Seaman to helm the ship, herself and Embrianna rotating in. The two lubbers will work with the more experienced sailors and learn the skills needed to helm, so there are back-ups.
"How much time will you need with each squad for adequate training on each topic?"
"Years," she says monotone. The voyage was too short to teach much of anything. It took her years of experience to get to her current level. A few days wouldn't help much. But she said every little bit helped and so she would follow her own advice. Hopefully one of them showed some aptitude. They needed another healer. "But in a few days I can teach them enough to not make things worse."
"Who here has experience with tending to wounded or sick?"
Sorrin makes certain breaks are taken.
He walks from position to position looking for individuals being fatigued. They may not be used to the exertion. Many haven't had jobs of late, some may never have worked on a ship. No coddling, but no injuries or burn out either.
Extinguish Fires (Mate): The Fire Chief is a Mate specifically assigned to the task of extinguishing fires aboard the ship. Fires aboard ship are almost as dangerous as holes in a Hull Location, and this Mate’s sole job is to lead crewmen into those Locations and extinguish the fires.
Extinguishing a fire requires the Mate to attempt a DC 20 Reflex saving throw. If his saving throw is successful, the Mate and his crew extinguish the fire in 5 rounds. For every 5 points by which he beats the DC, he reduces the number of necessary rounds by 1, to a minimum of 2. Damage from the fire affects the Location each round the fire burns. For example, if the Mate rolls a 31 for his Reflex saving throw, the amount of time necessary to extinguish the fire in that Location is 3 rounds. Magic can greatly aid this task. Failure on the Reflex saving throw indicates that the Mate and his crew fail to make any progress; failure by more than 5 (including rolls of a natural 1) indicates that the Mate and his crew failed to extinguish the fire and also take 2d6 points of fire damage in the process.
Under the watchful eye of the Mates the crew works hard, making use of the tutelage, and enjoying the fair treatment they've received, so far. The afternoon passes and the light is beginning to fade. The wind begins to shift, letting you harness the winds more effectively.
Wind Direction: East, Southeast
Ship Direction: Each Reach (more or less 90 degree angle)
About an hour and half earlier while you guys are taking the crew through their routines. Captain Donovan would turn to Bri. "You've got the helm and command, I'm going below for a few winks."