Though oblivious to the rain, Muffin senses the tension in the crew.
*Stay alert.*
Lee, while looking through a cupboard to find useful condiments to put alongside the cheese and meat, he realizes the cupboard is much more shallow inside than the outside suggests... and discovers there is a false back. Behind it is stashed 6 sealed bottles of very high quality brandy, each worth 20 gp each. The story of how it got there is anyone's guess, though perhaps a prior cook's mate hid it from Kroop. While it's not needed for trading for Rosie's fiddle any more, it occurs to Lee this would still make a good trade or simply gift of good faith to Grok.
As he notices lights flicker in the mid-deck, he goes out to see Peppery Longfarthing lighting the hold with light spells, or perhaps a longer lasting version thereof.
Owlbear has finished securing the barrels and is trying to tie a basket filled with rags labeled "Pancakes" to one of the posts. Peppery tests the ropes around the barrels and says, "Good job, Owlbear. These are nice and secure."
He straightens and practically swells at the compliment. She walks over to see what he is doing and leans over, plucking some shedded fur from the makeshift cat bed and examining it. Lee at that moment decides to go over to her and discuss crew fortifications and other jobs.
Unfortunately, she barely seems to notice him, let alone listen, although she does take one of the mugs, tastes it, then drops the cat fur into it, then pulls out some powder from some of her pouches and drops it in, and the liquid bubbles and turns blue.
"Hmmm, interesting." The redhead's eyes flicker toward Lee. "You want another job? Well, while I've begged Barnabas for a guinea pig, we're too short handed right now. Your concerns with fortifying the crew are best met by doing your assigned job following Fishguts' orders. He may be a drunken sod, but he knows what he's doing when it comes to feeding the crew. Used to be a prizewinning chef, don't you know?"
She smiles at him, sipping at the frothing blue liquid. "But once we do get a full crew complement again, I'll remember your offer to be my guinea pig." Lee is absolutely certain he did NOT offer to be her guinea pig, but that is the train of thought she has taken. Her eyes brighten. "Ooh! Then we could experiment on your familiar too. That would be fun!" She looks around the hold. "Here, kitty, kitty, kitty..."
But Muffin wisely stays within the shadows with the nice fat mouse he just caught.
And no, you're fairly certain you never told Peppery nor anyone about you or Muffin or ANYTHING about a familiar at all.
Peppery walks away, still drinking the blue stuff. You look down, and realize somehow your mug of turtril as turned blue too.
Lee feels Muffin's touch on his mind.
You at least learned an interesting fact about Kroop.
Owlbear goes back to his task after Peppery leaves, and pats the bed. He calls out. "Don't worry kitty, we will keep you safe if the ship rocks."
, remember you still have a +2 circumstance bonus to Cha checks w/ the crew, which will end tonight. This stacks with the alchemical bonus from the rum.
Dinner is harder to get down easily when the ship is rocking about more than usual. As you gather for evening rest and entertainment (not necessarily in that order), you see Threnody has a nasty abrasion on her face and Lark is covered in... things best left not mentioning. Cog, tired from his work, gets Lark a wet towel to scrub off some of the muck.
Quinn joins you, raising an eyebrow. "Well everyone's had a good day I see. Be sure you catch some kip tonight, my headache tells me tomorrow's even going to be worse. Ol' Bes is testing us, I'm sure."
"Time for a game of cards before we prepare for our doom, Sandara?" Conchobar cajoles, and Quinn shrugs. "Sure." Cog joins in and Tilly too.
Maheem arm wrestles with Fipps and some of the others. Tibbs chats with Jack as he sets about carving new dice for their games.
Night action: Influence Peppery (I know, an officer, but if I can, I'd like to chat as my Night action). If not an option, Entertain.
Considering that Thren's been rope-bashed, worked the bilges, gotten lashed, and engaged in a nice little brawl in the past two days, she's in remarkably good spirits. The stormy weather suits her, it seems. She even downs her rum without complaint, though maybe the alcohol is numbing the pain that is her face. She does say to Lark and Lee when she sees her friends, "If you see Peppery, let me know, would you? I want to have a chat with the ship's resident light source."
Night action: Influence Jack
Seeing no sign of Peppery coming through, Thren shrugs. "Maybe I'm not in the mood to sing tonight," she muses. "My jaw hurts a bit too much for that. That said...." The tiefling sees Tibbs and Jack and decides to join them, seeing him carving dice.
"So you're the Master of the Games around here!" Thren says cheerfully as she approaches Jack. She plops down beside him if she can and smiles. "I don't suppose I could convince you at some point to carve me a set?" Thren makes sure that the shadows lie across her face so that the bruises don't seem so fierce and leans forward and close to the young man. She is pouring on the charm and all her feminine wiles, limited as they may be. Her tail is twitching a bit at this point. "Do you carve anything else perchance? I'd like to see that. I haven't the skill for such things."
Prior to cards, Lehland starts off dinner with Lark & Thren by raising a glass. "Let's enjoy tonight's libation with as much good humor as possible."
He tips his tankard, drinking the rum off, and with a faint "Erk!" noise falls over.
Picking himself back up with a grin, the Halfling says, "No matter what kind of humorous thing you want to do, it is not worth rolling around on that floor. Now I'm going to have to boil my clothes." Looking down at the tankard still in his hand, says, "Maybe it's the tableware? I mean, if the glasses were prettier..." Then dribbling the dregs of his rum ration onto his tongue, finishes with, "Nope. Still just bad."
Lee continues, but in a soft voice and using his tankard for cover. Lee starts off by telling hos friends about the liquor find in the kitchen that day, saying that he kind of fears to drink it because the normal rum, in comparison, would seem even worse.
"Hey, speaking of bad, guess who has bubbled up to the top of my 'Crazy-N-Dangerous' list? Peppery. Yeah. Today I mentioned to her that I was a good copier and could do math and helped the navigator on the Aurora's Kiss and she responds with 'Excellent. I need a new guinea pig to test magic on,' then she whipped up a turtle jerky and cat hair potion on the fly...
...(and so saying, puts a small, lidded container (full of fizzy blue whatnot) on the table), then she refers to Muffin as my familiar, and then bustles off to do light spells and crazy at some other part of the ship."
Lee pauses to let that sink in.
"Right. Any advantage we had with keeping my true nature and Muffin's true nature a secret is blown. Maybe. Peppery could be so out of it that she just didn't think to mention to anyone that I throw spells and that Muffin is a supernatural creature. But who wants to count on that?"
Again, Lee pauses.
'Right again. She's willing to use sentient creatures to test new magical formulae on. My family was run by selfish, social-climbing bastards who would have used any successful new spell as a shortcut up the ladder and they never, ever tested anything on sentient creatures (unless we were already trying to kill them, of course). It's like she doesn't distinguish between 'people' and 'things'. Is there even a name for what that is?
My advice is to steer as clear of her as you can."
*avoid where she goes*
*find ways to escape from her*
"So seriously, steer clear."
With that, Lee moves off to join the card game.
Lark has decided his failure at the bilges was due to the almost-poison that passes for rum on this benighted ship. If Quinn is right about tomorrow’s weather he’ll need to be more alert. Lark mimes drinking from his cup while spilling its contents bit by bit. He’ll use the extra rocking of the ship to mask intentionally clumsy movements.
Lark joins the card game as extra cover for the slow disposal of his cup of rum.
Earlier on Day #7...
"Hey. I need to lock something up. Keep it 'safe'. Is that a service the quartermaster provides on this ship?"
Showing her his treasure, he says, "I need to keep my five bottles of liquor safe."
If Grok counts and corrects Lee, he'll hand her a bottle and say, "You are welcome to store your bottle with mine, but I only have five."
Sorry, you rolled well, but the DC to influence the likes of her is high
Jack looks up from his carving, and blushes--whether at the compliments or Threnody's general attention, it's hard to say--and he struggles to reply, hindered by nervousness as well as perhaps a bit of a natural stammer. "Y-yes, miss! I-it's the only th-thing I know how t-to do! I'm not even a good s-seaman yet... but I will be!"
Tibbs, who was talking to him earlier gives a slightly veiled chuckle (you'd think she'd wink at you if she had more than one good eye) and says, "Now, show off a bit, lad! Show her that knife you were making."
Jack nods. "Oh... right! But i-it's just sort of a... a letter opener..." he pulls out from a bag a slender scrimshaw knife, not exactly a deadly weapon, but delicately carved, with an intricate design on the hilt. "I can certainly make you s-something! Do you want dice? Cards?"
He's quite chuffed at the compliments to say the least, and whether "attracted" is the right word or not, he's certainly glad for the attention.
As tempting as it is to swallow another dose of rum, Lark resists temptation and successfully discards his ration.
He joins the card game, but still feeling a bit off, Cog beats his hand, and then surprising everyone, Conchobar displays a flush when you were certain he had been bluffing. There's no evidence of cheating, but you realize the gnome plays a tougher game than the foppish-looking fellow lets on--probably the whole point!
Everyone tries to be in good spirits, but talk turns during the game to concerns about the weather. While an expert gambler, Conchobar seems nonchalant, saying he's sure they can all stand a bit of wetness for another day or so -- although he cast prestidigitation magic to dry his own clothes off. Quinn disagrees, feeling tomorrow is going to be a tough day, and Tilly nods. She said she and her husband on the prior ship she served on had been through such.
"I reckon we'll all be put to work in the rigging. If you're not used to it, best to grab a pair of gloves to mitigate the rope burn."
"Rope burn? Not a problem for a seasoned rigger such as myself," Conchobar flutes.
Cog raises an eyebrow at him. "But you're wearing gloves, Shortstone," he chides.
The gnome blushes.
Earlier conversation with Grok: She grins with jagged pointy teeth. "I can certainly store this for you," she says, putting the offered bottle and opening one of the wooden lockers in the store. You catch a glimpse that she places them on the same shelf as a box of bottles marked "acid."
"Also, you gave me that axe that was lost in the bilges a couple days ago, and I can pay you for that if you've decided you don't want it. I can pay you 153 gold pieces for it, or trade you equivalent goods."
Nighttime activities:
As they are betting in earnest tonight, you lose 1 gold to Conchobar, who plays like a pro.
Lark certainly does look a little pale and shaky this evening. And it does remind you a bit, however lessened, of what Kroop looks like if he hasn't had a nip in awhile.
You ALSO notice that Conchobar does indeed use prestidigitation to dry his clothes without fear. (Of course, Conchobar does a lot of things without fear that perhaps he shouldn't.)
Lee thanks Tilly for her sailing expertise, when the conversation turns that way and asks her about her husband and her service on The Dainty Whale in appropriately sympathetic tones. She says she doesn't miss her old captain, but she misses the crew and of course her husband a great deal. Her husband was the ship's doctor, with a better bedside manner than Quarne has, she says, although she admires the Stitchman's skill. Her prior ship also always had a full crew compliment, and she notes that many crew were killed by the Chelish navy and worries about why Barnabas only "recruited" more crew up to the bare minimum.
She asks Lee if he is enjoying his work with Fishguts or if he is hard to work with as he always seems drunk.
Thren whistles appreciatively as Jack reveals the scrimshaw knife. "That's a nice piece of work! How long did it take you to make it? And what would it cost me to get one like it? Except maybe a little longer. I don't need letters opened, after all." She doesn't elaborate on why she'd want a knife, thinking that Syl has probably made it clear where she stands regarding the tiefling.
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"Probably just waiting and trading out for goods will be best. I'd feel like an idiot if I traded for coin today and then found myself in the water tomorrow with pounds of coins dragging me down."
After the card game, but before bed, Lee gathers Lark and Thren for a quick, private conversation.
"Okay. It is time to put our thinking caps on. This storm may be a blessing to us in that it is causing some questions are being bandied about. Like, why did the Wormwood press gangs only replenish the crew up to a minimal compliment? Why not full? Why, what situation would cause it to be an advantage for the officers to only have to deal with a minimal crew?"
Lee thinks some.
"And why replenish with random people? Cog was recruited, so it's possible for that to happen. Why is it that they don't care if we are sailors? We could have been miners, or woodsmen for all they knew. Why didn't they specifically target seasoned sailors?"
Tilly asks Lee if he is enjoying his work with Fishguts or if he is hard to work with as he always seems drunk.
Lee answers in a way that makes it easy for everyone at the card table to hear and eavesdroppers can get it, too. He doesn't raise his voice, but he speaks clearly and with conviction.
"You know, I'm finding out more and more about him. He is drunk a lot. Like, a whole lot. But he used to be a great man. Or at least a great chef. Something happened to him. Maybe it's his service on the Wormwood or maybe whatever happened drove him to the Wormwood. I'm not sure. But he's a good person and a big enough man to stand up for a cat even though he knew he'd get punished for it. He's easy to work with as long as you are a self starter. He appreciates whatever gets done. On days where he's unable to cook, I stand in and try to get food on the table, but taken in balance with everything else it's no burden for me. So I'd have to say I feel kind of neutral about the actual cooking but working for Fishguts is the best spot on this boat."
Threnody: Jack is so excited by the compliments and his ability to put his skills to use he does not think about why Thren might want a knife.
"Of course! This one took me a few days. Of course it depends on how much time we have. But I can make you one."
Tibbs interjects, "For how much, Jack? The nice lady asked."
Jacks looks uncertain. "Oh, it doesn't have t-to cost-"
"How about 5 gold pieces?" Tibbs suggests. "You're on the sea now, lad, need to make sure your talents get due compensation." It's obvious she's looking out for the young man, not trying to give Thren or him a hard time.
"I just really like t-to carve..."
Tibbs gives Jack a hard stare with her one good eye.
"How about 4 gold? No, 3! 2!" Jack seems to struggle with the concept of bargaining and looks to Thren. Thren could probably offer anything from a copper to a platinum and he would accept the deal.
Lee: During the Grok talk--Grok nods and just says he needs to remember to finish the deal.
Also: he examined the now blue turtley liquid. It appears to be alchemical in nature, and he can guess probably has some kind of divinatory purpose. If he tastes it, for some reason it tastes like blue Kool-aid, if Lee knew what that was.
Tilly nods along with Lee's expression of his good fortune to work with Kroop. "A great chef? I didn't know. But I'd agree it was likely the Wormwood what broke his spirits. Or turned him to them, at least."
"Let me know when it's done then, and you'll get your coin. Five gold." Thren agrees easily, nodding to Tibbs. She leans back in her seat. "So how did you two end up aboard the Wormwood if you don't mind my asking? Jack, you seem like you should be somewhere running a stall in a market square."
Jack blushes. "My dad was a whaler. I learned to carve the bones he brought home, and s-sell them to keep myself fed when he was away. But he died at s-sea--killed by a kra-kra-kraken, if you can believe it! I wanted to go and take his place. Earned job of cabin boy, but... Harrigan captured the ship I was on before I could learn much of the ropes. I still want to be a good s-seaman, pirate or mariner." He shrugs. "T-truth is, dad never wanted me to live on a ship, but better here than rot in the S-Sodden Lands."
Tibbs adds, "Much of the same for me. Served on a mariner vessel and got captured. Monster hunters, we were--lost my eye that way! Harrigan always makes the same offer--serve on his ship, or be sold into slavery. Frying pan or fire."
After the card game in private, Lark responds to Lee, ”If running with scanty crew is part of some plan then it’d be great to figure it out. But nothing springs to mind. I’m tempted to blame it on the officers being too caught up in their petty power games. If anyone here has a plan it’s Harrigan. But since he’s never around I’ve got no kind of read on him other than ‘strong’ and ‘ruthless.’
Do you think Grok or Fishguts has any idea where we’re headed? Maybe that’s the next question we need answered. I think we should grab the first chance we get to escape and take along as many of the rest of crew as we can. What do you think?”
"Seems like many of us are press-ganged. How many of us actually signed on without being told 'do it or die'?" Thren muses, watching Jack carve as she thinks out loud softly.
Jack shrugs, not really knowing.
"The older crew," replies Tibbs to Threnody. "Badger, Rattline, Aretta, Fipps, Maheem, Shivikah. I'd guess Jape, though he can't speak for himself. A lot of the folks on the night shift--you want the loyalest folks to be the ones up at night. Syl was rescued from the gallows--was about to be hanged for murder, so I heard. Not to mention, a lot of the crew who died at the hands of the Chells happened to be volunteers--probably more likely to die for the captain. And there are some newer volunteers and others who came by odd means--Cog technically volunteered even if he likely would have been pressed if he didn't. Conchobar bet himself in a card game and lost.
"Harrigan's friendly with most of his officers and I doubt he pressed them either. But mind, pressing crew's not unusual. Most ships in the Shackles are staffed by crew that weren't 'hired' in the best of circumstances. Ships fight with ships all the time for a lot of reasons, some good, some bad--but all are left at the end with what to do with the survivors on the losing ship. If the choice is kill'em, sell'em, maroon'em, or hire'em, hiring is the most merciful option--and if you're more pragmatic, the least wasteful. Even so-called 'privateers' often do it. More to the point, capturing crew earns you fame--or infamy, really--makes you known in the Shackles. Makes you considered badass enough for the Hurricane King to acknowledge you as a Free Captain.
Jack's eyes light. "So Harrigan has been capturing a lot of crew lately to boost his reputation!"
Tibbs nods. "Just so, lad, just so. Even if he's already a Free Captain, he needs keep the rep he's earned. And while I was captured before it happened, the Chells gave him a whupping not long ago--mind it took about four ships to this one--and I'm sure it's got him nervous about how the Hurricane King sees him. Capturing ships isn't the only way to earn reputation of course, but I reckon it's what Harrigan enjoys."
You're awakened, you're fairly certain, at least an hour early, by shrill blasts on the bosun's whistle and Scourge's bark: "All hands on deck! Get up ya lazy arses! All hands on deck! NOW!" You feel the ship rock and sway violently and even simply heading up the ladders is harder than usual.
Everyone gets up, however blearily, and hustles up to the deck. As you pass through the mid-deck, Kroop hands you ship's biscuit and tea along with slices of cheese and cured meat to fortify your breakfast, and you get a sense you probably won't be given another chance to eat for awhile.
You go above to a nightmare of rain, wind, and lightning. Waves rise high over the sides of the ship and crash against the deck, instantly drenching you as you arrive. No extra rain gear is passed out and it wouldn't help if it were--there is no escaping the torrential rain and high waves attempting every moment to swallow the ship whole. The only gear handed out are weighted vests to the smallfolk so that they are not hindered by the strong winds that are blowing. Rosie puts hers on without complaint and hands one to Lee, saying, "It's embarrassing, but you'll definitely want this. I know, you're probably thinking if you fall in the water it'll make things worse, but this'll make it less likely that'll happen. There's a hook here if you need to wriggle out fast."
The sky is so dark, you'd have no sense that it is close to dawn save for the time showing on the Wormwood's clock. The only light provided outside of a few magical spells on the ship is the intermittent, blinding flash of lightning that dances upon the sea around you in all directions.
The whole crew reports to the main deck, including Kroop and Grok finishing up the rear, closing the battened hatch behind them. Members of the night shift crew are still in the rigging and working away, looking to have no reprieve any time soon. Harrigan and Peppery stand on the poop deck, working together to control the wheel and maintain some kind of safe course through the waters.
Plugg addresses the crew while Scourge takes an accounting of them to be sure everyone is present. Plugg is short and to the point--no explanation is needed to illustrate the danger you are all in, or that all hands are needed for everyone to survive.
Nearly the entire crew is assigned to the rigging--Lark and Lee included in addition to Threnody. Fipps and Jape are sent to the bilges to keep them pumped, and young Jack is assigned as a runner to get messages between officers and crew.
All officers are present, most of them doing work on the main deck. Kroop hauls rope like a swab on the deck; Grok assists Quarne in restoring any seals or performing any repairs as they are needed. Scourge's mate Patch Patchsalt and Krine's mate Kipper join the regular crew in the rigging.
Lark is assigned to attend to repairs--any holes in the sails must be patched instantly, any ropes that fray must be replaced at once. Directed by Grok and the Stitchman (who also climb up if necessary and/or hand him and other crew necessary supplies), he has to move about quickly to help keep the rigging intact.
Lee is put alongside a number of crew on the mainsail, which must be raised, lowered, and adjusted constantly to adjust to the ever changing, furious gale. The upside it is a place where you at least do not have to do a lot of climbing. ()
Threnody as a more experienced rigger is assigned to line work on the smaller sails, moving between them as needed. Like the mainsail, it seems as you raise one sail, you must lower it again, and otherwise make constant adjustments, lest the wind and waves blow the whole ship over. ()
You all climb up in the rigging, some of the more experienced riggers helping give a hand up to the other swabs and get to work. Even high up on the masts, all you can see around you is lightning, rain, and fog in all directions. You've seen the Eye of Abendego and it's worse than this, but it's easy to imagine you're in something nearly as eternal and mortally dangerous.
You work away through the morning and--again with only the clock below giving you a sense of time--around noon, as the ship rocks violently, you hear an ear-piercing shriek from a man: you see Crimson Cogward slip off a boom and plummet into the waves below. You can just barely glimpse his bright blue scarf in the water, somehow miraculously remaining tied to his head. He struggles to keep his head above water. At the moment, Cog is only about 10 feet from the edge of the ship, but the waves threaten to drag him further any moment.
Amid the chaos, not everyone has noticed Cog's plight, and not everyone is able to act. You three are all, conveniently, positioned to see what has happened. There is a coil of rope below you not far from the edge of the ship where Cog is flailing in the storm-roiled waters. And of course plenty of rope is at your disposal where any of you three stand. If you act fast, if cautiously, you can act as you choose (or not) without endangering the ship.
Day action: Work diligently
Thren's having a hard time in the storm herself. She's got the energy for it, but the unrelenting wind and rain are making her job far more difficult than normal.
When she sees Cog's plight, the bard shouts "Cog's overboard!" and grabs the nearest length of rope that might be useful as she tries to throw him one end while holding fast to the other.
There are no normal day actions today (this also means you may NOT "work diligently").
While standing on a boom, the ship sways, and Threnody reflexively grabs for the mast--releasing the rope she was holding in the process. The sail starts to come crashing down and Thren gets clubbed in the head by the moving apparatus ( damage). Sandara Quinn rapidly swings over to Thren's position and pulls the sail back up before it has a chance to finish knocking her over.
When Cog falls, Thren in turn thinks fast and grabs a rope to throw to him. Quinn is still nearby and holds the end of the rope to help steady both Thren and her toss.
Muffin begins formulating his tried-n-true ship abandoning strategy.
Step #1 is to hide in a place that allows him to sprint to a lifeboat on a moment's notice
Now it's just a waiting game...
Lee doesn't seem to be in a sailing mood today (maybe it's the weather) but despite the hard, futile work he's still feeling energetic and full of spunk.
Lee see's Cog fall and hears the cry of "Man Overboard!"
Thren seems to be holding a rope, and a rope seems like a totally handy thing to Lee right now. Lee makes use of the quick release Rosie instructed him on earlier, and scooping up the slack part of the rope Thren is holding, loops it around his waist and ties himself off, leaving several extra feet of rope free, yells over the wind, "I'm small. You can haul me back into the boat."
And with that he's over the rail and heading towards Cog.
If Lark is in mid-repair when Cog falls he will tie it off as quick as possible.
There is a coil of rope below you not far from the edge of the ship where Cog is...
Lark quickly climbs down to the deck next to the coil of rope.
Several crew rope bash Lee for his inability to properly assist with the mainsail.
He decides to fling himself off the ship in shame. Or to help Cog, whichever.
Thren will maintain a hold of the other end of the rope, but if she spots someone nice and meaty and strong like Owlbear, she'll call for them to come over and help haul in Lee and Cog.
Muffin tries to spot Cog in an effort to play the worst game of 'Hot or Cold' with Lee that's ever been played.
Oh. Poor Cog...
Fortunately, the party can see Cog just fine without Muffin's assistance, and Lee doesn't need help because he's being thrown right at him. Muffin finds the problem with looking into the water from where he is sitting is that it forces him to leave what minimal shelter he has found to go look over the sides, and it is very WET AND COLD there. It is also WINDY, and he has to dig his claws into the deck to avoid being blown around. This sadly makes his assistance as a scout minimal (although of course his presence still grants Lee keener senses than he would otherwise possess).
Lee makes it out to Cog and passes him the rope...
...and waits for Cog to fasten himself.
Once they are both tied to the ship, Lee has a chance to evaluate the rate at which he (and Cog) are ingesting seawater, and it's "plenty". As such, he decides to signal his fellow crewmembers that the hauling may commence. Lee encourages Cog to join him as he hollers out (in a most heroic manner), "For Desna's sake! Haul away! Pull us in!"
Once (If!) Lee feels pressure on the rope, any 'swimming' will be of the 'staying afloat' variety instead of the 'making headway' variety.
For Muffin, the wet isn't a huge issue, but blended with COLD it is unwelcome.
Once the sense of relief comes flooding in from Lee (everyone is tied safely to the ship), Muffin retreats back to his favored ship-abandoning position.
*It's still raining.*
*See? I can learn Human things, too.*
Lark calls out to Grok, ”Help me fish Lee out of the water!”
Lark positions himself at the railing closest to Thren’s rope. If it’s close enough he’ll make a grab for it. Otherwise he’ll look about for a gaff hook (hook on a long pole) or similar tool to extend his reach.
-
As Thren calls for help and picks up a rope to throw to Cog, Lee heroically if foolishy dashes forward and ties himself to the rope, instructing the two women to toss him and the rope to Cog.
Somersaulting through the air like a master gymnast, Lee lands squarely next to Cog and grabs him without pulling the both of them under and ties Cog to the rope. The sense of being tethered to the ship calms Cog enough he is able to begin swimming toward them, in spite of the storm-ridden waves.
Lark sees the trouble and makes to leave from the spot where he is helping Grok splice rope, asking Grok to come with him. She can't, as both of them leaving would let a piece of rigging fly free, but she calls out to Rosie Cusswell to help, as she-who-knocked-down-the-Owlbear should be more than capable of assisting, and they begin to haul the two men in.
With two people in the water (and one being Lehland) Lark says a silent prayer and heaves the rope as he never has before.
Lee follows Cog's example and starts stroking toward the boat in an enthusiastic, if unskilled, manner.
"Not interested in any funerals today," the bard growls as she throws her body into pulling the two sailors up.
Cog stroking forward and Lee kicking behind, they manage to defy the waves and get closer to the ship. Thren, Lark, Sandara, and Rosie strain to pull them up over the side, Rosie nearly toppling over on the first pull as the weight unbalances her--but Thren pulls on some inner grit and makes up for the unbalancing and they keep the rope tight.
On the second heave, they pull Cog and Lee high enough they can climb their way back over to the side, with Lark using a hook to help them keep from sliding back off the slick rails. Cog falls to his knees, coughing heavily, but he is alive and looks up at the group with gratitude. Quinn and Rosie move to help untie the two.
"The Lady's not going to take me in her arms today after all," he observes when he gets his breath back, and as he brings himself to his feet, he nods to Lark. "I understand what you were saying now. Most souls on this ship wouldn't have blinked at my going missing. You had my back when I needed it, and from now on, I've got yours."
He claps his hand on Lee's shoulder. "You were braver than I gave you credit for. Thanks."
"Hells yeah, you've got a steel pair all right!" Rosie agrees.
"But now that everyone's okay, we'd best get back to our posts, before we all end up in the drink," Sandara says. "This storm's still going strong."
She heads back to her post, as does Rosie and Cog; as it is, he's only slightly wetter than everyone else, and he removes his waterlogged boots to continue his work.
When Lark returns to his station, Grok leaves where she was covering for him, and goes over to Lee and grabs and shakes him. "You idiot! Even a doughy privateer should know not to jump overboard on purpose! Don't you ever do anything like that again!"
Her voice quavers, and were it not for rain already spattering her face, you'd think her eyes were watering. As furious as she sounds--and she's a half-orc, so she always sounds kind of furious--you get the sense perhaps she was worried.
=====
Once all is well for Cog (and Lee) it is back to a slogging grind under the still driving rain and wind. As the clock at long last dings the end of your usual shifts, Plugg and Scourge shout throughout that all must continue working to keep the ship afloat. As they yell this, the ship dangerously tips, waves crashing onto the deck, as if to emphasize their point.
The usual folk on the night shift at this point have been up for 24 hours and some of them, in spite of the terrifying ongoing storm, are flagging. Scourge whips anyone who looks in danger of passing out at their post. As horrifying as this is, it is still evident every hand is needed to survive the storm.
The adrenaline rush of the rescue keeps our bard going all through the day and beyond. The bad weather may even contribute to an improvement in her skills, or maybe it's just a healthy sense of caution about going overboard and drowning.
As shivering, drenched Lee is dumped onto the deck and Rosie leans over to untie him, he asks her, "I know I'm small, but you aren't going to throw me back, are you?"
And smiling and happy to be alive, Lee straps his weight vest back on and heads back to his post.
When Grok steps over for a word, Lee's probably still in high spirits, which would do nothing to make her feel better. After the shaking and admonishing and, maybe, some tears, Lee will respond seriously.
"I understand. I promise to be more careful. We'll talk about this later, when the storm has passed."
The night shift goes poorly for Lee. His sailing skills (such that they are) seem insufficient for the tasks at hand and fatigue has set in.
Lark is grateful his friends are safe, but the effort left his muscles tired and trembling. He fumbles with his knots and moving about the rigging quickly fatigues him.
The night goes on seemingly endlessly, and the crew start to grow numb as wind and rain beats upon them. Threnody manages to ride the wave of adrenaline and does her work admirably, but Lee's and Lark's spirits and energy flag. While Kroop at some point passes around some more ship's biscuit to keep everyone going, it is little fuel to keep one going.
You think perhaps at first that it is wishful thinking, but the wind and rain does eventually slow, into a still-heavy but more forgiving downpour. Just as you're certain you're doomed to dwell in an eternal night brought upon by ceaseless stormcloud cover, you look up to see a gap in the clouds, and a seam of gold shining through it. The clock chimes its deep thrum to confirm that morning has come at last--and you have survived the storm. You hear Quinn mutter "Praise Besmara," and she empties a small pouch of gold into the sea.
Concobhar observes this, and as he pulls up a sail, with the rhythm, he sings softly and half-deliriously, "The sun'll come out, Besmara, I'll throw a chest of gold to you, Besmara.... there'll be sun... Besmara, Besmara, I love you, Besmara, you're only a sail away...."
Quinn glares at him.
The night shift, already fighting the urge to fall asleep on their feet, are at least released to go to their hammocks. Patch, Kipper, and Peppery are also released from duty, while the other officers remain at their posts, Captain Harrigan at the wheel. He looks steadfastly on, as if the exertion of being up all night is nothing.
You, and the rest of the day crew, are not so lucky. While you are re-assigned to your normal tasks, you do so now having not slept at all for over a day. With the rain still falling, the ship must be kept going--toward the gap in the clouds that promises a release from all the rain.
Daily action: Work diligently
Not too long after dawn the adrenaline rush finally seems to end for our weather-lashed bard and she begins to slow down and tire. Despite being up all night and getting tired, Threnody still manages to do her job, if not brilliantly at least adequately.