"Disqualified!?" Bastardos mutters under his breath. His eye goes wide, and he clutches his chest; if he could sweat it would be running cold. 20 gold was a paltry sum, but a week living under Grok's thumb filled him with dread.
He raises his raspy little voice as loud as he can, trying to work the crowd into a frenzy "SOD THE RULES! WE CAME HERE TA SEE BLOOD, AND BY CLUB OR BY KNUCKLE WE'LL GET BLOOD!!
"Im sure my stories has proved that once you go against your word and honor as a pirate, things go badly. So i suggest you honor your word as pirates and accept the win of our friend here" she tries to help him out by getting the crowd on her side
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Scourge looks ready to knock Machete out himself, before he visibly calms down, turning to the side and spitting through his teeth. He growls in agitation, tossing the coin pouch at the mans face, before striding across the deck and ripping his whip from his belt. He draws back his arm and lashes out, sending the tip of the whip crashing towards Owlbears cheek. "USELESS FLAMIN OAF. SHOULDA PUT HIM DOWN IN ONE!"
The large man cries out, dropping the club and stumbling backwards, whimpering and crying out, holding his eye in pain.
The crowd disperse in disgust. As they do, Crimson turns to Amara and grins, staring her up and down, dark lust sparkling in his eyes. "That is a fine story lass, very fine indeed. Remind me not ta let ya near my knives!" He grins, reaching out and tracing his hand down her arm. "Whatt'ya say you and I get a drink and talk about who needs ta be carved up?"
At the same time, Grok turns away from Scourge and his anger in disgust, staring down at Bastardos, a slow grin splitting her face. "Well looks like you owe me 20 Sails and a weeks work little man. Don't worry, it'll only be the hardest week o your little life!"
Mateo is--quite frankly--shocked when Scourge throws him the prize money, wholly having expected the pirate to have either denied saying the battle was to have been a fistfight or just have said that he'd decided to change the rules on a whim. He turns around, looking for Amara, to present the short lady with the winnings.
"As far as I'm concerned, you're our leader," he tells the Besmaran priestess. "Put this to use where it'll do the most good or stash it away for a rainy day. You might wanna count it first, though: not only do I not doubt for a minute that Scourge would cheat us, but I'm also not sure he can count higher than the number of fingers on his hands."
As he wipes some more blood away from his eyes he adds, "I could also use a bit of healing, if you're able."
Amara's eyes widen as she accepts the loot from Mateo. "Leader or not, this is seed money. Someday we'll have freedom. Someday we'll have a ship. Someday we'll pay the bastards back. . . ." She tucks the money deep in her clothing.
She's about to cast Cure Light Wounds on Mateo, but then, seeing Owlbear writhing in pain, she stops. "Mateo, could you come over here? That poor thing was forced to fight you. Shouldn't have to be a slave."
Amara extends a hand to Owlbear. "Are you hurt, big guy? Let me give you a little help." She says in his ear "No-one should be a slave. No one!
Praying for guidance.
She channels energy to heal both men.
Bastardos turns from Grok seething and approaches Owl Bear. He joins Scourge in the punishment.
He attempts to give Owl Bear a swift kick in the shin "You cost me a week a' my loife, ya great galoot!"
"Oi! No need for that you pest of a lizard!" she snarls at him
"It isnt his fault!" she steps up to both of them. Still not all too well. But no way she was going to let the little serpent bully the allready beaten up man.
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There is a faint smile on Cadj thin, cruel lips, as he answers to Besmara
I see nothing wrong in slavery, at least as long as I am the master and not the slave. That said, I wasn't the cruelest master in Cheliax, and the slaves were my father's, not mine.
Turning to Machete
Nice fight. I didn't think you would win that one. I wondered why you didn't attack him on his blind side. Maybe you didn't noticed his unseeing eye?
Mateo nods at Amara as he gets a sense of what she's up to. Though the healing energy she channels doesn't get him back to ship-shape, at least he's no longer in danger of being knocked out should someone sneeze unexpectedly.
"You punch harder than a mule kicks, my friend!" Mateo says with a bloody smile. "I don't plan on going toe-to-toe with you again if I can help it!"
"I can't believe Scoureg tossed you a club! Didn't you hear the Captain's order about not killing another crewman? Maybe Scourge was trying to get you killed...or didn't care one way or another. That's just not right."
Mateo thanks Cadj for his kind words as the wizard speaks up. Mateo then takes another closer look at Owlbear before blurting out, "Well I'll be damned! I was so busy looking for openings in his defensive stance I never even noticed his bad eye! Live and learn."
Owlbear shies away from Bastardos and towards Amara and the others, particularly taking note of the kind words of Vex jumping to his defense. He hides behind Vex from the little Kobold, staring sullenly at the lizard man.
He sniffles, rubbing away the tears and stands straighter as Amara washed away his pain. He grinned at her sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck, toeing at the deck bashfully.
"Thank you pretty lady!"
He then turned to Mateo, guffawing loudky and punching the man playfully in the shoulder "Owlbear man not mule!"
At Cadjs words about his eye, Owlbear laughs again, loud and braying. "Owlbear not only one not see HaHaHa!" He bent double with the laughter, slapping his thigh loudly, causing some crew to look around confusedly.
Mateo's knocked back a step and a half by the big man's 'playful' punch. "I'm guessing they call you 'Owlbear' because of this," Mateo says, pointing out the remaining patches where the man had been tarred and feathered in the past. "Who did that to you? Scourge? Who else? Did you have another name before 'Owlbear?'"
Mateo sees another way to make Owlbear bond more with the group.
"I don't know about you, but I could use some more healing after our little battle," he says in a confidential tone. "Amara doesn't usually give me the time of day, but if you were to ask...."
"He doesn't have to ask. Poor thing."
She's trying to charm Owlbear. I hope Mateo's got the idea. We need allies, and we all fight with the weapons we have.
If Crimson is still around: "I'm sorry we got interrupted in all the excitement. Raincheck?"
To Bastardos, her eyes flinty and cheeks flushed: "Bastardos, what is your problem? Seriously! It's like you want people to hate you! Thanks, Vex."
She thinks about launching into a tirade about slavery against Cadj, but wisdom gets the better of anger. The rum almost made her do something stupid. At least he seems honorable.
I guess Scourge won't take this loss easy. You humiliated him publicly, or so he would think. You'd better prepare and brace yourself, Mateo. He won't loss time in threats, to better get the upper hand.
Bastardos throws up his hands as he stomps away from the group.
"I DON' NEED YA TA' LIKE ME AFTER YER ALL BLOW'D UP!!"
Owlbear shrugs his shoulders uncomfortably and shuffles from foot to foot. "Owlbear just Owlbear. Never had no other name that he can remember!"
At Amaras attention, Owlbear blushes furiously and begins to chuckle to himself. "Owlbear is great-full!"
Crimson at the same time is less than impressed with the kind treatment the woman is giving the huge man, but is still a little bit stunned by her looks so lets it go. He grins and nods. "Aye. Raincheck lass. Some other night!"
Grok moved over to the group when Bastardos shuffles off and sighs shaking her head softly. "I swear to Besmara that little lizard is gonna be the death of us all. He ain't mean nothin by it, he is just a bitter little runt when he is crossed. He will come lookin for ya again tomorrow I would reckon!"
-Posted with Wayfinder
Just need to count the money.
Before hanging his hammock and climbing into it, Mateo takes a moment to have a quiet conversation with Amara.
"I was thinking.... Do you suppose Grok's store has any magical scrolls left over from past hoards these cutthroats looted? Might be worthwhile to invest in some if they'll help the mage, Cadj, in the future...assuming, of course, that he's willing to help us in turn."
The day dawns, bright and hot, the ship bell calling you from your hammocks and to the main deck. You stand there blinking in the early morning light as the deck kicks to life around you. A hearty breakfast of salted fish and biscuits is served at the main mast and the crew sets too, laughing and grinning. The ship feels relaxed, everyone feels happy and even Scourge, walking towards you, is grinning happily.
"Ello poppets. Good mornin one and all. So new task today boys and girls..." He steps back, gesturing out over the deck towards a reef, some couple hundred feet off of the bow of the ship. "Cap'n wants some fresh crab and you all are goin to catch it for us. Take a pot and swim out to that there reef and don't come back till yer full!"
He points towards the stack of pots before walking away to gleefully beat a crew member who knocked over one of the buckets of breakfast.
Cadj cast a spell on himself before going ready to swim, and a kind of translucent force surround him
I hope everyone knows how to swim?
"I can, well enough," Mateo answers Cadj. "How about you ladies?" he asks Amara and, with a worried look, Vex. Lastly, he gives a wry smile to Bastardos. "You got enough limbs left to tread water?"
Once Scourge is out of earshot, Mateo tells the others, "Make sure you have some sort of stabbing weapon--ones that you have to swing like a mace or a longsword don't function well underwater. Also, I'm going to have a talk with Kroop--can't recall if crabs have to be alive when you cook them or if they can be dead. Seems to me certain shellfish can make you sick if you cook them dead...clams, maybe? Anyhow, you know damned well who'll get blamed if the captain gets a tummy ache after his meal--us. I'm also gonna visit Grok's store and pick up a spear if I can. Anyone want to tag along?"
Amara would like to shop for something stabby (a spear, perhaps) and also a length of rope.
"Never got much chance to swim as a kid, because, well, slave, and then I was too embarrassed to get someone to teach me. Could you drag me along, Mateo, if I got a rope?"
"Mr. Scourge, sir. We can try to swim, but if we can maybe get one of those small rowing boats to get to the shore, we can get the crabs for the Captain much faster, and less chance for them to escape. We will even be willing to let you take credit for the idea?"
She gives him her best smile, hoping to win the gruffian over to maybe give them some help so they don't risk drowning
Bastardos considers the distance to the reef and shifts nervously. All he can think is how ill-equipped his tiny arms and half-a-leg are to such... lengthy marathons.
He mumbles out a quiet little croak, doing his best to slowly back away unnoticed."Ahhhhh, actually Mistah Scourge, I lost'a, er, bet withh'n the quartermaster, and I'll be remiss if I'm late fer me first day on the job... aheheh..."
Amara was a slave earlier in life? Had she mentioned that before?
Between that little nugget and the fact that his father had trained him to track down and capture escaped plantation slaves, this arrangement didn't feel right to Mateo. Plus, tying yourself to a bad swimmer was a worse idea--they could drag you down with them if they panicked.
Just then, Vex made her plea to use a rowboat and Mateo's hopes soared.
"We'll see," he told Amara, turning to watch and listen to Scourge's reaction to Vex's request.
Scourge considers for a moment before nodding and pointing towards the rail. "If yeh can get her in to the water yeh can use her. But there IS a catch. Lose or break the boat and I'll have yer heads. And that is not a figure o speech neither. I will actually break yer heads off at the neck and that is a promise. Well... get to it. And don't come back empty handed."
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Mateo managed to work out how to unhitch the Jollyboat from the ship and how the pulleys work and in no time has the little bat dangling over the edge.
As Mateo works on the dinghy, Scourge glanced down at Bastardos. "I'll pass on your regrets to Grok. She'll yack on an extra day jus so you can make up for it."
Cadj takes the rows and shows remarkable strenght and stamina.
Not your usual bookish magic user, this Chelaxian..
Amara breathes a sigh of relief. No swimming!
She winks at Vex, acknowledging a fellow practitioner of the fine art of persuasion.
After the group all clamber into the boat, she does her best to help.
"Hey Mateo or Cadj, can I help? I'm not sure what I can do, but I'll do my best."
She prays for guidance (+1 skill check), and then helps Mateo first.
The boat is hauled out from its moorings and set delicately in the water. As the small crew climbs aboard, Crab Pots in hand, Scourge looks down over the edge, grinning broadly.
"Remember, break that boat or lose it and you'll be f$+~ing murdered! Ta-ra!"
With that you are cut loose and begin to paddle your way towards the Reef some 200 feet distant.
Cadj
Vex
Machete
Bastardos
Amara
As you reach the reef you drop the small anchor over the side where it sinks for five foot before thudding in to the reef below. You stare down through the crystal clear waters to spot an outcropping of rock teeming with life.
"Uhm... i'll help spot Crabs... but i doubt i'll beable to catch any. I will help switch out pots" she smiles sheepishly
She peers into the water
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I don't see any crab so far.. Do you?
He asks to Amara
Should we take them alive or kill them first?
"Kroop said alive is better--that shellfish decompose pretty fast," Mateo tells Cadj. "But he also said that unless we take forever catching them, it probably wouldn't make much of a difference."
Mateo peers over the edge of the rowboat into the clear blue water. "Pretty," he comments absently. With a grin he adds, "Pretty empty of crab, that is. Then again, we probably won't find many crabs backstroking on the surface."
Trading his oar for a spear, Mateo drops over the edge of the boat and sinks slowly beneath the surface.
"Let me see what I can see. . .
Amara looks over the side and peers into the depths, saying a prayer as usual.
"You'd think with the water this clear they'd be easy to find. Little bastards--no offense Bastardus--must be hiding."
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Bastardos scans the reef bottom, and spots a crab scuttling on the bottom!
He points it out as he steps on the side of the ship "Look! One roight e're!"
He dives off the side of the ship, and immediately starts drowning.
The crew get off to a slow start and crabs seem to be hiding but by his next attempt Mateo seems to get it down and the crabs begin to appear.
As Bastardos begins to sink he catches sight of something glinting down below, some 20ft down. Vex can see from the ship, the outline of a sunken ship, lying off the reef, some 30ft below the lowest point on the reef.
"Guys. Guys!" she points where she sees the wreck
"A sunken ship. Maybe worth a look? " she remains to help get buckets onto their little rowboat
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Cadj remains in the ship, and sends one of his magical darts on the crab
Let's get rid of these beasts first.
"I feel a bit useless here. First thing I do if I ever get back to Ilizmagorti is find someone to teach me how to swim."
"I think I see one! Over there!"
Bastardos climbs back in the boat, coughing up water.
He wraps his has arms around Maeto's neck, sobbing "OH THANK YE! I THOUGHT I WAS DONE FOR!"
Bastardos composes himself, and directs Maeto to the glinting object.
He is also going to go on point, and try and pick the crabs out rather than going to get them.