"Good day. I am in need of healing medicines and tonics. What kind do you have in your store?"
The shop is filled with various roots, herbs and other things as well as a wizened Halfing sitting behind a counter working on some sort of solvent with a mortar and pestle.
She glances at you when you come in with a smile of warmth. Her hair is iron gray and she seems to be fairly old, but she also seems fairly friendly.
Her name is Petunia Mossbanks and she smiles at you when you come in.
”Good evening dear, how can I help you? Oh – won’t you have a cup of tea?” she says with a friendly voice beckoning you inside out of the cold.
There is indeed a kettle on a small stove, next to some beakers and other tin cups.
She quickly takes it off the stove and pours a cup.
When she hears your comments she nods.
”Oh honey, I have lots that can help you,” she says bustling around the place.
”Let me show you…”
To DainGM
Right, correction - it's formally the "Healing Remedy". It's a campaign creation and is on the "Campaign Info" page on the bottom under house rules (via price and properties).
It should be noted, though, she seems to be more like the Halfling's you've heard of - very different than Vale. Much warmer, friendly and more down to earth.
In other words, Vale is an enigma, not the norm, when it comes to Halflings, or Holbytla, in the old tongue. More notes on Halfling languages can be found Here.
That said, she's happy to cook and share food with you and is very friendly, but her prices are book prices unless you're willing to buy in bulk. If you do that, she may be willing to bargain.
As Vick moves around the bar, he glances toward Polux, Hack and Suny - and the young elf girl tagging along with them.
"Anything else I can help ya'll with, just let me know," he calls out over the din.
Drinking her mint tea with sugar (Taissa passes on the cream), and with Daya now beside her in the shop, she continues with the apothecary,
"Mistress Mossbanks, I will buy three flasks of your Alchemist's Fire and two of the Healing Remedy. Thank you."
*************************************************
Taissa, with Daya in tow, makes her way through the crowd to the bar and gestures to gain the barkeep's attention.
"Vick, how much do I owe you for the board? I only paid you for the first night and would like to settle my debt. And, do you know any skilled navigators in town? Perhaps a privateer, a sailor for hire, that would be willing to take on a job?"
***************************************************
*****************************************************
Hack will spend his time at the bar, and generally hanging out with Polux.
Should we stop and see the Lord of the town again? It wouldna' hurt to stake out land before we head off to the South.
Here ya go, Vick. This is for what I owe ya, and this is for drinks and food for me and all my friends today. You keep what's left. Please get the girl here a meal, eh?
Suny sees to her younger friend's needs within the tavern/inn and secures for them both a pleasing repast(Plus a few extra coins towards a room Suny and Elianna can share. (^_^)
Then, it's off to the local shops/retailers/stores/armorer's etc to see about the basics for Elliana to wear. (^_^)
Vick comes over to you and listens to your questions; brief as they are – and gives you a quick response through his work.
”Oh yeah! We got hit by the ogres three nights ago. They came in the night when the snows hit us… came against those houses on the outside of the wall at night in the snow… killed two lads, wounded fourteen… four houses destroyed completely and seven were damaged bad… they’re being fixed now, but it’s hard in this winter… We killed ‘em, though… Four adult males… Sent a team to track where they came from as soon as the morning came… Team’s been gone these past two days… Twenty outriders left… Six bounty-hunters left to find news, too…”
”Hoping they find something soon… Odd for four males to be striking the place… They like to ambush not raid strong places… Could be desperate for food… we’ll find out more soon… lot of folks moved from the huts outside to inside the wall… got extra guards on the walls, too…”
"Do you know if there is anyone around here that was involved in the defense against the ogres outside the wall Vick? I want to know if they found out exactly the reason for the attack - maybe they managed to understand what were their intentions - not that ogres need an agenda though" - Polux shrugs.
Hack will spend his time at the bar, and generally hanging out with Polux.
Should we stop and see the Lord of the town again? It wouldna' hurt to stake out land before we head off to the South.
Here ya go, Vick. This is for what I owe ya, and this is for drinks and food for me and all my friends today. You keep what's left. Please get the girl here a meal, eh?
Back at the table, Polux keeps up the conversation with Hack - "I'm not sure about the right way to go about it, or if there are any particular proceedings that need to be followed through, but I am sure we can find out - you planning on starting to look for land right away? As I said I am not into that just yet, but I'll give you a hand on the search" - he raises his mug in a toast - "In the meantime, after lunch and while we are out and about taking care of that, I'm planning on buying some additional supplies for the trip to Osirion - you wanna come with?"
I'm with ya, friend. I was thinkin' about maybe just askin' about the land.
"That's settled then - let us finish our meal and head out" - Polux nods at Hack.
His trip through town is aimed at looking first and foremost for one particular good, which he expects will not be too hard to find - a Hot Weather Outfit - something he feels may come in handy in the lands of Osirion - "You should also grab one for yourself, as should the others if we end up going as planned" - he advises his companion.
Afterwards, he will go looking for the most detailed information in writing about Osirion that he can find - maps, reports, chronicles, anything that may provide useful information regarding their destination's geography, laws, customs, etc.
The last thing are rations, but he decides to take it up with Ren and John before purchasing such supplies.
After the purchases are done, he goes into a weaponsmith, purchasing two whetsones , then turning to Hack - "These can sometimes come in handy, if you have the patience, and the weapon for it" - he offers them to his companion - "Now let us go searching for your piece of land - where do you think we should start? Wanna head out to the area of the ogre attack? Real estate prices surely must have dropped in that area" - he adds with dry humour.
Aye, I have my Whetstone in my pack.
Geser approaches Asan wherever he finds him, hopefully in a more secluded area.
"Friend Asan, I would like to speak when you have a moment. In a very short time, I have realized that we work with a worthy group--but you, above all the others, strike me as the one most like myself. You seek spiritual and moral truth, and you seem to take it quite seriously. I have misgivings about our new...ally? The one called Blackroot. Do you trust him? Do you feel it is wise for him to have possession of that dark idol we discovered?"
Geser finds Asans standing still towards the edge of town on a low hill, looking back at the small amount of activity, hands resting behind his back.
He nods at Geser's comments.
"You are correct. I was indeed set here on a journey of enlightenment by the great Mother, and it is a matter not to be taken lightly. That is why I have come here to consider the decision ahead."
He frowns, realizing he may be coming of more harshly than he intended.
"I too have some...concerns about the small priest. Although his intentions seem good, how can one know in such a short time? A persons actions must be judged over time, their actions must be savored like a long meal, gathering each taste, and letting it sit on the tongue. Only once the meal is truly over and long in your belly can you know if it was good."
Smiling somewhat, he continues;
"It is good to have companions with which to discuss these things. I think that if we do all decide to go on this trip to The Golden Land, he Blackroot must be watched, and then we will know. Though he is indeed powerful, if his intentions prove to be for ill...I will do what must be done, whatever that may be. "
"But we can talk more of that on the way back to the inn. It has occured to me that I have dues, and I would like a hot meal before long."
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Re: Mossbanks
She smiles and nods at you, quite pleased at your friendly demeanor.
RE: Vick
Vick doesn’t seem to be as worried about all the coin. He likes your personality and demeanor – especially given the fact that you keep trying to be friendly, and given the fact that you paid in advance and came back in time (and the thing with you finding a ship) seems to please him quite a bit. He takes the 5 silver to round things off and doesn’t charge you for the rest of the time there, and will even let you crash here tonight.
RE: Pilot/Navigator Question
RE: Loot found on the beach –
1. Scimitars: 10
2. Suits of Studded Leather: 9
3. Single barreled muskets: 4
4. Powder/Shot for Muskets – 10 doses remaining
5. Masterwork Khopesh
6. Breastplate
7. Light Shield
8. Various rations (translate into Trail Rations) enough to feed a man for 20 days (or a small company for less time).
9. Hookah pipe and tobacco (value unknown).
10. Two Skyrocket Fireworks
11. Locked chest – contents uknown
NOTE: John has made clear that anyone can claim any of these things as their “cut” of the loot.
Here’s how this will work, though – normally if you claim something you’d have to spend ½ price of the value of it out of pocket. So if you wanted a Scimitar you’d need to spend 7.5 gold pieces as a scimitar is 15 (the resale value of the weapon being 7.5 and what the crew could get if they claimed it).
But in your case John is feeling fairly expansive. He’s allowing you to claim and piece of loot on the ground for ¼ price. So if you wanted a scimitar instead of being out of pocket 7.5 gold you’d only be out 3.25 gold.
It is Taissa’s opinion that things like bloody armor that enemy soldiers were wearing when they died is the sort of thing other folk would claim, then haul back to a town, and try to find a buyer who’d want it and get some extra loot for it.
You get the distinct impression that to guys like John and Ren and most of the folk around here that’s so much work and micro-managing that they can’t handle it.
When it comes to mundane things they’d probably just leave that kind of stuff behind, unless they were really hard-up for gold.
Ren would have told you that you could keep all the details together if you want to be precise and make sure you’re not getting ripped off, but generally – once pay-day comes, you’d be presented with a bill with costs and your “cut” in a lump sum and you take it and present the shop-keepers a set of loot.
Ren suggests that in such cases if you compared your ledgers with what actually happens – sometimes you end up loosing out on some coin, and sometimes you end up getting extra coin. But generally you even out. He points out that the only real issue is for “high-priced” items such as items that would collectively cost you over 200 gold (such as buying/selling 20 scimitars – for example, or buying a MW composite shortbow).
Finally, Ren notices you buying arrows and recommends that you begin a little training with Crafting things, suggesting it will save you money in the future (check the new rules on crafting on the Campaign sheet – it speeds things up a lot and a girl like Taissa could craft 20 arrows on her downtime in about 2 hours maybe while she’s relaxing on the ship for less money).
Crafting will be useful – he recommends especially CRAFT: Alchemy and CRAFT: Bows for a lass like you. But given all the things you can make with CRAFT: Alchemy, that’s a really useful one in the future.
Healing Remedy:
You are all able to attempt to use a Healing Remedy with the Healing Skill. If you are not trained in the skill, it does not matter. If you had a wisdom of 20 and rolled a natural 20 you’d get a Healing Check of 25 and be able to do some extra healing to whoever needs it.
The trick is, you get it, put it on as a Full Round Action and roll your check, then. The better your result, the better the healing.
In fact, since you can only use the Remedy once per person per day – you can even use Heal to “Aid Another” via the standard rules so you can try to buff healing after a skirmish but during the middle of an adventure if you have a few minutes of “Down Time” to gather around one wounded guy and give it a go.
So you can't Take 10 or Take 20 on it (as failure could result in not getting healed at all), but you can at least attempt to aid each other, provided you have the time and flexibility to do it.
Healing potions/magical Healing:
You are correct. Healing potions are almost non-existent. However, Scrolls are much more common. This allows you all the chance to earn some magical healing (in a pinch) but it definitely requires training to make it work properly.
Even then, scrolls are rare and expensive.
There is no “shop” that would have them, but there is a small church nearby and a priest who you had seen earlier on your first day in town. He also runs the local Hospice.
Typically he prefers holistic remedies rather than magical ones, as they are far cheaper and most people don’t need magical remedies unless they’re off on some damn fool adventure looking to cause trouble.
He has some scrolls for sale, but they are twice book price unless the person is in the military and needs them for a specific campaign mission – like the ones he gave out to the people who went to see where those ogres came from.
If you’re looking to buy one, he can provide you with a Cure Light Wounds, Cure Disease, and Cure Moderate Wounds scroll – as many as you can afford – but at twice the book price.
The priest’s name is Liam Ironhorse. He’s a priest of Erastil, but in his younger years he was a missionary in the south. Now he’s retired here in his older years to do good deeds to help people in the growing town.
He also has some books on the south – but most of it is about Thuvia, not Osirion. However, there are quite a few similarities between the cultures.
He cannot sell you a book (Books are very expensive without lots of cheap paper or a printing press) but he tells you that you are welcome to come at any time with a journal and make a copy of any book you want – no charge.
Regarding Warm Weather Gear
You will likely find a man who can do business for Warm Weather Gear. His name is Nemo Sartorius and he runs a sort of “General Store”. It has in it any type of clothing for sale (provided it’s not “Nobles Clothing” – this is fairly mundane gear). He also can sell you an “kit” for use, provided it isn’t something rare or unusual (such as a Thieves Kit).
Regarding Land:
All land is either open or “claimed” by people who own the property. In other words, if you wanted to build a house in the town, all the space to build is already built on – you’d need to buy a current building from whoever owns it and you could then tear it down and rebuild, or remodel it. Whatever you choose to do.
Outside the town it’s pretty much first come, first serve. If you built a mansion next to the wall and had no fence, I might build a shack next to your mansion, so long as I had the parts to make one. There really isn’t much in the way of zoning here. If you tried to smash my shack down because it was “too close” I could say you’re destroying my property and fight you over it.
But that’s the land right next to the town. Most people give each other a little space (there is, after all, plenty of room around the outside of the wall and no need to build so closely to each other formally.
However, you would know that once you get a few miles from the town that it’s pretty much a matter of “Anything for the taking”; to an extent.
In other words, so long as the land you want to build on has not already been staked out by another, you are free to build wherever you want. However, anyone can take that land from you if they choose (though you can try to defend it).
You are welcome to buy one of the damaged houses, but there is no certainty that it will withstand the winter while you’re gone if you don’t repair it before another snowfall.
If you wish to have the formal protection of the town’s legal apparatus against such attacks from squatters or other town thugs, then the town will help you defend the property so long as you are willing to pay them a “property” tax on the land you claim.
The tax is 1 gold piece per square foot of land that you claim. The price goes up 5% for every mile you get from Beacon – if you want the town to protect your land from invaders, that is.
There is a one-time fee for the land you buy and each year you must pay the same amount as your annual “Tax” on the land for protection from enemy threats both foreign and domestic. Once you’re away from their immediate presence it’s pretty much up to you if you can defend it, but if you want their help, they need money for their troops to aid you.
Once you have the land, you can build whatever you want on it (provided you can afford it), but it will be up to you to figure out what that is later.
You could probably afford one of the damaged houses for about 150 Gold Pieces (It is a 20x20 one room affair with a fireplace and some beds in it; currently they have no roofs as they roof was on fire during the attack. And – as you may expect when a roof is on fire, you don’t need no water, you let the mutha-effer burn ;)
You could buy a similar house in perfect condition – but it would cost you roughly 300 gold pieces.
A townhouse in the town would likely cost you outright 3,000 gold pieces for a two floor affair that is 50x50 feet and has three rooms upstairs and four rooms on the first floor. But once you buy it, it will be in the town limits and generally safe from foolishness while you are on missions.
The better townhouses are more expensive, though, and none of them are for sale (though they may be depending no how much you want to spend on them).
Alright Hack and Polux – what do you guys want to do next?
Be advised - what you've done already has taken you a long time as it is.
And remember, when it comes to rations and foodstuffs for the voyage, Ren and John have already taken care of that.
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To all –
There are 2 clothing shops of note in the town.
1. A shop owned by man named Nemo Sartorius; it sells all types of clothing as well as kits. The clothing is generally well-made, but it’s not fancy, but functional.
He has some sets of warm-weather gear in the back; he tells you they are good selling items in the summer because the humidity from the swamps near here make it very uncomfortable.
He also sells quite a bit of “kits” – all generic ones from the book via his “General Store” style – but no "illegal" ones such as “thieves kits”.
2. There is a shop owned by a gnome named Grahm Abarnathy. All of his clothing is tailor-made; he takes your measurements and provides you with properly cut clothes measured to your exact size. He has a wide range of good clients in his list of references; but his clothes typically take a few days to a week to fashion as they’re custom-made. Generally this is the shop you go to if you’re looking for a “Noble’s Outfit”.
Stefan would know that the gnome was prepared to take his measurements and begin outfits for him if Stefan pays in advance so he can pick them up on his return.
Prices here are standard book prices.
After tending to their duties, I would assume that they return to the Inn.
After askin' around, we need to wait on the land or buildin' if we are goin' south. We have no way to defend a claim or our buildin'. How 'bout another drink, Vick?
After a full meal etc, Suny continues to scamper about the town with her friend/companion in tow sorting out things that Elianna might need in their coming travels (Again, a quick idea of available spending moneys would be nice)
After a full meal etc, Suny continues to scamper about the town with her friend/companion in tow sorting out things that Elianna might need in their coming travels (Again, a quick idea of available spending moneys would be nice)
** spoiler omitted **
No. She's formally a 1st level character with standard 20 point buy.
Her stats are built already, though. You've taken her, so she's your responsibility now.
The night has come on hard – the rest of you having gone about your business through the course of the day. You are then given a final night in the tavern but are forced to share the room that Stefan had rented as it is the largest and warmest and easily accommodates all of you, though some of you have to spread your bedrolls on the floor near the fire for comfort.
In the daylight Khal has come to find you and informs you all that John and Ren are ready to sail and urges you to hurry as they are concerned that another cloudbank in the distance could cause issues if it is bringing snow.
Grabbing your gear you hurry to the harbor quickly and soon reach the longboat that takes you to the ship that you’re on.
You notice that Ren is on the quarterdeck of The Seahawk and that John is talking to someone on the other ship and waves as you draw near.
As per the request of Stefan to possibly find a cleric or a pilot, and Taissa’s concern that there was no pilot either, John and Ren have asked around and have found an old comrade who is willing to help pilot your ship for a cut of the profit for selling it.
The pilot standing next to John is wearing a long seacoat over studded leather armor.
An extremely well-made rapier hangs from the left hip and a pepperbox pistol is tucked in the belt and a dagger juts from the pilot’s boot as they turn to look at you as you haul yourself on board the ship.
John takes out a pair of cheroots and lights up both of them, and hands the lit one to the pilot who accepts it with a nod.
”Morning lads and lasses,” he says with an amicable grin as he waves you on to the creaking ship.
”We’re good to go now, eh?” he adds as he hops up to the gunwale and watches you get your gear aboard.
”Don’t worry – I had a scribe make up the charts for your new pilot here.”
He glances at you all.
”Right now I’m trusting ya’ll that you’re working as a team here. So far there ain’t no captain of this ship, but when it comes to naval matters the pilot’s the boss; but only in matters of getting the ship moving. Oh yeah - we’ve done work in the past and I’ll tell you now, on that front you don’t got to worry… When it comes to sailing, she’ll get it done,” he says with a grin.
He grabs a rope and prepares to swing back across to The Seahawk and waves at the pilot who gives him a nod as she hops from the quarterdeck and comes to look at you all.
”Hey! Name’s Kristin, but you can all call me Kat, if you’d like,” she says walking over the deck looking you each over.
”Johnny tells me that we’re heading to Osirion and you need someone who’s able to make a fast run,” she adds glancing at you all.
”Well I can do the fast run, sure as sunrise,” she says with a brisk nod ”so I’m happy pitch in and lend a hand.”
Her eyes dart over you all and she frowns a little as John is already making orders to put to sea.
Her eyes rest on Elliana for a moment, studying her.
”Morning, child – are you able to sail on a ship?”
"I have been on ships before, mistress," she says quietly.
Kat's eyes narrow as she looks at the elf girl, studying her intently.
”We sail fast, child – are you able to sail fast?"
"And in your journey's have you killed before? There will likely be killing on this voyage…”
”Yes mistress – I have sailed. No, I have not killed before, but I have seen it done. I will do what I need to do to make sure that no one is hurt because of my actions; but if I must kill to help my friends, than I will do my best.”
”Very well. It will not be easy – you must do your best, but if your actions cause the injury of the ship or those who serve on it, you will be accountable.”
”I will do my best, mistress,” she says quietly.
Kat takes another tug of the cheroot and looks you all over for another moment.
”Alright, than – Johnny’s told me your names, so I know 'em pretty good already; but as he's just set sail that means we got to shove off now, too... That storms coming and I reckon it’ll be here soon so we can’t dally… Meantime, which one of you is the boss of this bunch?” she asks you all as she studies you with a curious expression.
** Response **
Basic Stat Rundown –
Str: 11 = 11
Dex: 15 +2 = 17
Con: 14 -2 = 12
Int: 12 +2 = 14
Wis: 14 = 14
Cha: 10 = 10
Class: Corbie – level 1
More to come on her later, though. She has no gear, though – you’ll need to get her gear soon. If I don’t have it for the sheet you won’t have it for her.
Suny steps between Elianna and Kat lady.
"Hey-YA there! M'name be 'Suny' in'a speakin' of tha' peoples." She offers her hand as she pipes up.
"Now...Eli an' me is travelin' ta-gether after a un-fortune-eight incident which we rilly dun't need ta' get into so soon an' can relate t'ye self later, like." Suny explains.
"M'self be right familiar with ships an' boats, of which I think ye'll agree, ye find yerself on'a deck of a quite nice one, hey?" Suny smiles.
"I be takin' responsibility fer Eli an' be teachin' her tha' ways of boats an' stuffs, so ye need not be worried about tha' lass mixin' up her self, okeys?"
"She can be right prodigious with tha' propper supervision, which I be more'n happy with takein' upon m'slef ta' be doin'." Suny nods firmly to indicate her seriousness at her last statement. (^_^)
She purchases a hot weather outfit from Nemo Sartorius for the sum of 8gp.
Taissa would like to purchase from the loot they found on the beach: one single-barrelled musket and 5 shots? I think you said Capt John would sell them at a 1/4 price. So musket would be (1500x1/4) 375gp and 5 shots would be (50x1/4) 13gp. For a total of 388gp.
So in total Taissa spent on purchases: 264+8+388=660gp.
Kat takes another tug of the cheroot and looks you all over for another moment.
”Alright, than – Johnny’s told me your names, so I know 'em pretty good already; but as he's just set sail that means we got to shove off now, too... That storms coming and I reckon it’ll be here soon so we can’t dally… Meantime, which one of you is the boss of this bunch?” she asks you all as she studies you with a curious expression.
Taissa stepped forward to formally introduce herself. "Well met, Kat. I am Taissa and this is my avian companion, Daya", pointing to her beloved Roc. "To answer your question, we have no established leader. Yet, Polux seems capable and has stepped up."
Polux was honestly distracted simply observing the exchange, when Taissa's words completely caught him by surprise - "I am Polux, and Taissa is correct" - he nods from his position, leaning against the side of the ship - "We have no established leader as of yet. Why do you ask?"
I'm Hack! Well met, Kat. I have some sailin' experience, and lot's of killin' experience.
Actually, I think I may have made a miscommunication with you about the Musket.
So the thing is, Firearms near Beacon are already half price to begin with.
This means the “base price” of a musket would be 750 gold pieces, not the book price of 1,500. So in this case you’re out of pocket a total of 175 gold pieces (1/4 price of Musket). But you’re actually not “out-of-pocket” that loot right now.
Since you already have the Musket in the pile of loot what John was basically saying about the money for gear is that when you eventually get your haul later, he’ll deduct the cost of the musket from your “cut”.
So in other words, the value of the Musket is given to you as “Credit” and you still have the 250 gold pieces to spend on whatever you want to buy. When he sells the ship and gives everyone their cut of the loot, your cut will be equal to everyone, minus 175 gold pieces.
Kristin looks over at Suny for a moment, her eyes resting on the blonde girl thoughtfully as she looks from her to Elliana.
"She can be right prodigious with tha' propper supervision, which I be more'n happy with takein' upon m'slef ta' be doin'."
She takes a pull on the cheroot, watching Suny curiously for a moment.
”Um… “prodigious” means “really big”, I think…” she says slowly, watching you for a moment, but seems to loosen up a bit based on your enthusiasm.
"Well met, Kat. I am Taissa and this is my avian companion, Daya", pointing to her beloved Roc. "To answer your question, we have no established leader. Yet, Polux seems capable and has stepped up."
Kristin glances over at Taissa for a minute and nods with a quick smile.
”Well met, Taissa! Hey, I like your bird… so how old is she?” she asks with genuine interest.
"I am Polux, and Taissa is correct" - he nods from his position, leaning against the side of the ship - "We have no established leader as of yet. Why do you ask?"
Kristin glances over to Pollux and taps some ash off of her smoke thoughtfully.
”I don’t know… I guess I like to know who’s running the show, you know?” she says with a little shrug.
I'm Hack! Well met, Kat. I have some sailin' experience, and lot's of killin' experience.
She turns a quick glance at Hack next.
”Sounds good… well, I’m hoping we need less killing and more sailing – but from what Johnny tells me there could be some trouble on this trip. But that said – let’s get to it, hey?”
She hops back to the quarterdeck.
”Let-go sails and weigh anchor lads and lasses; we got to get moving, chop-chop, savvy?” she calls from the quarterdeck.
Suny bounces to attention at Kat's orders, before spinning around and helping Eli get to work at squaring away their gear and thence putting the ship straight for setting sail.
Hack fumbles over himself at the rigging, but he stays at the task.
Kristin glances over at Taissa for a minute and nods with a quick smile.
”Well met, Taissa! Hey, I like your bird… so how old is she?” she asks with genuine interest.
Taissa openly smiles at Kat's reaction to Daya. "Daya is over 2 summers old. And I'm glad you like her. She will be travelling with me on this sea voyage."
Polux proceedes as best as he can, though he is definitely not an expert at traversing the seas.
Geser finds Asans standing still towards the edge of town on a low hill, looking back at the small amount of activity, hands resting behind his back.
He nods at Geser's comments.
"You are correct. I was indeed set here on a journey of enlightenment by the great Mother, and it is a matter not to be taken lightly. That is why I have come here to consider the decision ahead."
He frowns, realizing he may be coming of more harshly than he intended.
"I too have some...concerns about the small priest. Although his intentions seem good, how can one know in such a short time? A persons actions must be judged over time, their actions must be savored like a long meal, gathering each taste, and letting it sit on the tongue. Only once the meal is truly over and long in your belly can you know if it was good."
Smiling somewhat, he continues;
"It is good to have companions with which to discuss these things. I think that if we do all decide to go on this trip to The Golden Land, he Blackroot must be watched, and then we will know. Though he is indeed powerful, if his intentions prove to be for ill...I will do what must be done, whatever that may be. "
"But we can talk more of that on the way back to the inn. It has occured to me that I have dues, and I would like a hot meal before long."
Geser interprets that his new friend is still acclimating to his lifestyle, and at the same time, that Asan is always acclimating to life in new ways by adapting his perspective as he perpetually gains new understanding. Geser nods along as his companion talks, never put off once by what he hears. It's all reasonable. He agrees to head back to the inn with Asan so they may continue to speak.
"Your approach to life is admirable," Geser begins solemnly, and he means every word of it, "The only admonition I would make is that sometimes one must act on instinct in order to survive." Geser pauses and frowns, as though he immediately regrets his words. His eyes cloud over for a moment as he remembers something, but then he presses on. "My point is that there is something...uncomfortable about Blackroot. His manner is suspicious, though I cannot expect others to see what I see. Perhaps I am mistaken about him. Nonetheless, the longer we wait and leave our minds open, the longer he has to become an inseparable part of our lives. The Captain has already accepted him and trusts him implicitly; if Blackroot is indeed up to something nefarious, he would obviously also be good at hiding it." Geser pauses once more as his the muscles in his jaw work out some nervous tension. He's not angry with Asan, he's just frustrated. "Far be it from me to cast aspersions on someone I hardly know, especially when he has saved my life and others. I simply believe we must think twice about him. Thank you for being receptive."
:
Stefan arrives dressed smartly for departure. He gives a coin to the boy he hired to bring his things and bounds up the gangplank to the deck. Hearing John's introduction, he also introduces himself.
"Good morning, Kat, I'm Stefan." He says with a sweeping bow.
"I haven't much skill at sailing, but I will help where possible."
The ships slide from port and are quickly hard pressed to advance west around the breakers of the southern peninsula which juts from the mainland for a few miles until they can round it and tack course back east.
Your excellent sailing checks in general have seemed to push the ship forward at a good speed and soon you are pushing toward the eastern borders of Varisia and to the nation of Cheliax beyond.
It seems that The Seahawk is having almost no trouble with its sailing, indeed, it’s as if it needs to slow down a bit from time to time simply to let you move forward to get close to her. But in general you’re no more than a league or two apart.
As you sail you get a sense for what kind of person this pilot is.
She seems young, barely into her twenties – but has a very good amount of experience with her work. Her personality is friendly and somewhat outgoing, but she had a tendency to push herself a little more.
You understand from brief conversations that she learned to sail properly in Cheliax, though she is a Varisian native. As the Imperial Navy of Cheliax (as well as most of the culture in Cheliax) is extremely patriarchal she was unable to sign on to serve as a naval officer in the line of command. Instead, she elected to be a ship’s surgeon – as Cheliax allows females to serve in the military as field medics.
She served for two years and leaned everything she could about navigation and tactics, then – roughly two years ago – she left the service and went into business for herself, which is where she met John.
She has no issue discussing these things with you, and is happy to talk to you all about anything you’d like to know as you continue to sail.
She informs you that as both your ship, and The Seahawk are running on “Skeleton Crews” that they won’t be able to sail as fast as they’d like. Further, they will each have to stop at some point as they cannot sail twenty-four hours a day.
During those times John wants the ships to be less than a furlong off so that if any threat comes up on them in the night they’ll be able to do what they can to defend each other quickly.
But for the first day you have ample time formally discuss your plans and thoughts with each other and – if you are interested – ask any direct questions to your new pilot.
"Daya is over 2 summers old. And I'm glad you like her. She will be travelling with me on this sea voyage."
Kristin glances at Daya again from the quarterdeck and takes a drag on the cheroot as she edges the wheel a bit to the leeward.
”She’s pretty young, then.”
”But they hit growth spurts from time to time; one minute she’s hoping around the deck of the ship, the next minute she’s big enough for you to be riding on,” she says thoughtfully.
She watches the waves for a bit.
”Johnny told me that you guys were looking to make Beacon your home – but he says you didn’t have any ideas on what you’d want to do,” she muses thoughtfully.
”You ever thought of getting your own ship?”
”Not this class of ship, I’m talking about something more like Johny’s ship… a corvette. It’s small, easy to manage for a small crew and they’re fast,” she adds.
”You could use it make runs or do whatever it is you need to do, until you get some real loot. When that happens you can settle yourself proper-like in Beacon.”
She takes another drag of the smoke, and turns up the collar of her jacket a bit from the chill sea spray.
”What do you think?”
Taissa liked Kat's straightforwardness.
"If Daya permits it, I shall ride upon her when she is grown."
Upon the question of making Beacon her home, Taissa shrugged and replied with equal candor, "As for making Beacon my home, I'm uncertain. I have given my word and signed a writ with the Lord Regent to protect the town. I have not stayed in one place for long, in all honesty. We're nomads, Daya and me." Taissa pulled her long, copper hair back and tied it with a leather cord as the cold air whipped it around her face.
"I favour land. I've spent little time on the sea. Daya is happy on land or over sea. I said to my travelling companions that I am willing to make ocean voyages but not dedicate my life to it. I mean no disrespect to you, for I see you have made your livelihood thusly."
Pondering the choice of ship, Taissa responded, "I prefer a cleaner, swifter vessel, that will ride atop the waves. If we will benefit through ownership of a ship, then I will consider such a purchase. To succeed in our goal, we must earn more wealth. Yet, we are still strangers and barely know how to fight together, let alone work as one."
Scanning her eyes across the water and the cold skies, she turns to Kat and asks, "Would you ever consider leaving behind the sea to live on land?"
Suny spends most her time helping, teaching and pretty much just being friends with Elianna as they settle in to being part of ships crew.
Working out what skills Elianna is best at doing, being she is so new to the job of being on a boat.
"I prefer a cleaner, swifter vessel, that will ride atop the waves. If we will benefit through ownership of a ship, then I will consider such a purchase. To succeed in our goal, we must earn more wealth. Yet, we are still strangers and barely know how to fight together, let alone work as one."
"Would you ever consider leaving behind the sea to live on land?"
Kristin grins.
”Not really – I mean, I like to sail. I like the adventure; the going from place to place and seeing new things, you know?”
”Land has its appeal, sure – but that’s for later; when I can afford something a little more solid.”
”But there’s nothing like doing some sailing to earn loot easy, you know? A few quick missions and you’ll be able to make really good money fast,” she says with enthusiasm.
Having settled her gear away, Suny scampers about helping with ship's duties and assisting the others with doing 'shippy' things.
"Good morning, Kat, I'm Stefan." He says with a sweeping bow.
"I haven't much skill at sailing, but I will help where possible."
Kristin nods at Stefan and grins.
”Nice to meet you, Stef!” she says.
”Yeah, I heard that you guys haven’t done much sailing yet; that’s why Johny asked me to pitch in.”
”But don’t stress about it too much. The way I hear tell, you all are in charge; I’m just the pilot. I mean, I’ll get you out of a jam in a storm or something, but when it comes to running the show that’s up to how you guys want to do things.”
Kristin turns and watches the others are their work.
They seem eager to help, I wonder what makes them tick, though... what kind of people they are...
Oh well, I'll find out soon enough, I suppose...