Chumtooth shrugs at the big Other's gruff reply, and moves on.
He stops to admire the livestock. "Meat," he says with intensity, feeling the saliva wetting his gums.
He approaches the room where several Others appear to have gathered, the point-eared Other and the female Other not called Satinder who fell from the mast are present, arguing with a large, green-skinned female Other with a cut-mark across her neck.
He sees the clumsy female Other's bucket has more rats in it than his own. He decides that she will not miss a handful or two, and the men with whips will be less likely to beat him.
Assuming he is not spotted, he will move on.
Bangkha grins at the sight of Cat and reaches through the bars to scratch him under the chin. He leans close and whispers.
"Ayaw og kabalaka. Atong Pahawa kamo." He looks around him with a slight frown. "Kita ang sa duha ka binilanggo alang sa karon."
"Cat belongs to me," he says to the cook. He scowls at the floor, trying to find words that will persuade the man to release Cat. "He must have followed when ... when I came aboard the ship. Give him back to me, and he will bring luck to ... to me and my shipmates."
He smiles hopefully, a terrible sight.
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Looking down in my bucket to make sure that it is still filled and still good with my thoughts,
as long as my bucket has enough in it to not get punished, I will let it go if not, I will say " Sir, those rats are not yours, if you want i shall help you catch you're own but I will not let you steal mine sir.
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Day passes into night, as it must, and before the dinner bell comes the bloody hour. Fipps Chumlett, Jaundiced Jape, Aretta Bansion, Sy Lonegan, Alwen, Bangkha, and Ayaki are scheduled for punishment and have been arrayed upon the deck.
"I don't like fightin' on me ship," Captain Harrigan begins. "The sooner ye all learn that, the better we'll all be! That will be three lashes each. Mr. Plugg?"
The sadistic Mr. Plugg smiles evilly and nods to Master Scourge, who holds his whip at the ready. In turn, each of those to be punished is tied to the mainmast, stripped to the waist, and given three lashes of the whip as punishment.
Alwen
Bangkha
Ayaki
Ayaki
The good news is, you miss tonight's rum ration. The bad news is that you don't remember anything until the morning. You passed out while taking your lashes and awake on the morrow with a sore back.
Chumtooth watches the proceedings, arms crossed. He looks down at Satinder and speaks in a low growl.
"The Captain teaches with pain. These Others will not forget."
After the proceedings, he takes his mug of rum and drinks.
Chumtooth looks around for some sort of sport; a test of strength.
Feeling extra-charming, Bangkha goes in search of the quartermaster, hoping to charm her with his half-orcish wiles.
"Pretty name, Cut-Throat is," he says with his least horrible grin. "Bet you've got a tale or two of how you've earned it."
"I spoke to the cook earlier, he told me you were the one to see about the cat in the hold." he says, not actually waiting for a reply from her. Even at his suavest, he's no prince charming. "Thing is, that cat and I are old friends. If you could see your way to setting him free into my care, I'd be in your debt"
Alwen reaches behind himself and rubs his back, glancing over at Ayaki on the ground. Seems that some people were less durable, though another lash and he'd have had to taken a nap himself.
Taking his rum ration, he smiles as he stays by the edge of the railing, before quietly dumping it for tonight. He was far too sore to enjoy it, and not even the good kind of sore.
He glanced around, figuring he should continue his plan to make friends - this time with someone who could help him out on his own job. The barefoot human woman - she seemed like a rather nice girl, and a good rigger in her own right.
"I suppose working without shoes makes it easier for you to climb those ropes all day," He tells the rigger, smiling at her and putting on his charm. "In case you didn't know it already after seeing me at the mercies of the bosun, I'm Alwen Gaelarean. I do hope that you know I'm usually not so troublesome...unless you want me to be, of course," He winked.
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"Oh, so he's yours, is he? A real fighter, that one. We knew he had ta be friends with one of ya, 'cause when we took ya aboard, he wouldn't leave. Took me almost an hour ta lure him inta the cage. As fer lettin' him loose... I dunno... the captain'd likely have my hide, yours, and his!" She pauses, "Even so, there might be something I can do. Give me some time. He'll be safe there for now. Most of the crew are afraid of him."
You know, you're really kind of cute," she says. Suddenly, she leans over and kisses you squarely upon the lips. "But you talk too much. By the way, your friend over there," she says, indicating the half-orc who aided you in the fight this morning, "Seems drawn to our quartermaster. You might mention to him that she enjoys exotic drinks and fine songs."[/b]
You spot several of the Others engaged in an event that seems to involve hurling a heavy, oiled object as far across the deck as possible and wagering on the outcome. There are also a few Others in a contest that seems to involve forcing one's opponent's arm to the table, where a bed of broken glass covers the surface.
Chumtooth approaches the Others engeged in the test of arm strength.
He watches several bouts until he has the gist of the rules, then takes a seat when a table opens up. He places his elbow, and waits to see if anyone will take up his challenge.
Satinder watches the lashings, and is out of it for a little while.
Awareness starts to dawn on Dantes as he watches yet another bloody hour. This won’t let up. They aren’t doing this to put us in our place; they are doing it because they love it. I need to start looking for my way out…
Dantes will drink his rum, counting on his stout ancestry to ward off its bad effects.
Fort save
Charisma bonus
He will sleep off the rum, but not before starting to plan out his way out.
"I thank you for whatever you can do. I know the Captain's got to prove a point with the new 'recruits,' but..." He turns to show the stripes on his back from the lashing earlier. "...point made. I'm not looking for any trouble, but Cat.... He's not good with cages."
He shrugs, then gives her a grin. "Anyhow, it's good to have a friend aboard ship. Maybe some night we'll share a ration."
The elf grins at the kiss, listening to her advice and glancing over at the half-orc. "Interesting. I'll be sure to let him know the next time I can catch his ear."
He then reaches over and kisses her back, tasting the rum on her lips before pulling away. "Sadly, tonight I'm finding my lashings to inhibit me a bit. We can pick up where we left off here later," He informs her, before heading below decks to get some shut-eye.
Satinder will attempt to get rid of the drink, and then join Chumtooth at this table, putting her elbow on the table and her hand in his.
"Three, two, one, go!" she counts down quickly, to get Chumtooth of balance.
It seems that the two of them are matched strengthwise, as they swerve left and right. Satinder uses only some trickery to deafeat him, but takes care not to crush his self-esteem.
"Wow, you are strong! Remind me to stand next to you if we ever get into a fight!" she says pompously before bending forward and whispering "You need a weapon of some sort? I'm going hunting for precious things tonight."
She then goes around the ship, looking for valuables with which she can buy gear, or a weapon should Chumtooth request one.
---
"Chumtooth wants Chumtooth's weapons. Chumtooth can fight with all weapons," he replies in a low tone, his tone indicating that he most certainly would like a weapon of sort.
He rises from the table and glares at the onlookers, and growls.
"The ones Chumtooth spoke of before. The mor-ning-stahh, the hahh-poon, the flensing knife. Chumtooth also has a fih-thuh, a pipe for throwing small fih."
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Your third day aboard the Wormwood begins in the usual fashion. As the sun begins to creep over the horizon, you are rudely awakened by Master Scourge and his whip. "On deck, you maggots!"
Once the crew has assembled on deck, daily assignments are given out by Mr. Plugg.
Assignments - Day Three
Alwen - Rope Work: Handling the ship’s ropes, including coiling them, stowing them, and securing them to cleats and single and double bollards, requiring a DC 10 Profession (sailor) or Dexterity check.
Bangkha - Swab the Decks: Backbreaking work mopping the decks and scrubbing them with sandstone blocks called holystones, requiring a DC 10 Strength or Constitution check. Failing either check results in the PC being fatigued at the end of the shift.
Ayaki - Rat Catcher: Catching rats and other vermin belowdecks, requiring either a DC 10 Stealth check, Survival check, or Dexterity check to catch and kill enough rats, cockroaches, and beetles for a good day’s work.
Chumtooth - Swab the Decks: Backbreaking work mopping the decks and scrubbing them with sandstone blocks called holystones, requiring a DC 10 Strength or Constitution check. Failing either check results in the PC being fatigued at the end of the shift.
Satinder - Man the Bilges: Vile and sweaty work cleaning out the bilges (area A11), requiring a DC 12 Strength check. The PC must also make a DC 10 Constitution check to avoid being fatigued at the end of the shift.
Dantes - Turtle Hunting: Hunting leatherback sea turtles with harpoons, treble hooks, and nets. A DC 10 Profession (fisherman) or Survival check provides enough food.
Let me know what your ship action for the day will be, please.
Accustomed to swabbing decks after a whale kill, Chumtooth goes about the job in work-a-day fashion.
As the day progresses, he watches the short, hairy Other trying to kill something off the side of the boat with a harpoon, as well as several other implements.
Finishing his row, Chumtooth approaches where the Other stands, and hefts the harpoon resting against the gunnel.
He examines the weapon closely .
Chumtooth exhales visibly then returns the harpoon to its place, leaning against the gunnel.
"Chumtooth can show this one how to hunt with this haahh-poon," he says to the short, hairy Other.
Bangkha strolls up on deck with a smile. He knows where Cat is, and he trusts the other half-orc to look after his friend. After his assignment is given, he slips down to the quartermaster's to visit Cat and Cut-Throat.
"Don't suppose you made any headway on letting the little guy out?" he says to Cut-Throat, as he scratches Cat through the bars of the cage. "You can see he's harmless, unless you're a rat, that is."
On deck, he puts in a half-hearted effort at best, scouring the decks, distracted by his thoughts. He watches Chumtooth trying to find his harpoon, and mutters to him as they scrub.
"Captain's got all our stuff, but it should be in the quartermaster's store," he says. "Tonight I'll take another run at her, and see if I can talk her into letting us have it back."
Rope Work is one of the easier parts of working the rigging - at the very least it wouldn't leave him dreadfully tired. At least he had his crewmates around - some of them were downright amiable to him.
Seeing that the work was so easy, it didn't take him much to get it done, finding himself with a little extra time between tasks. Seeing an opportunity, he make his way to the the ship's kitchen to see if he couldn't pinch a bottle of something other than the rotgut that they served during the evenings.
DAY 3:
Satinder is doing the best she can, but really needs to break her back to get the job done. She is starting to get used to the foul smell however, even without the wet towel in front of her face.
She is working all day, with nothing else to do, to make sure she will receive no complaints and/or the cat.
"I frakking hate this kind of work! Aaaargh!"
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Actually, yes. You come across both the cat (below decks in the main hold, with the other livestock) and Chumtooth's weapons (in the Quartermaster's shop).
In the kitchen, you don't find much of interest. Kroop is not a neat individual and few things have labels. Perhaps surprisingly, the rum is not stored in the galley, but rather in the quartermaster's store. However, with a diligent search, you do manage to find a bottle of dwarven whiskey. Make a Stealth roll of Sleight of Hand to pocket it without being spotted.
"Sorry," she says. "The captain is pretty set in his ways."
Ratline is standoffish at first, but soon gets drawn into the conversation with such an attractive lass. Before long, you are laughing together like old friends. By day's end, you have formed the bonds of friendship.
On deck and quite visible to the taskmasters, Dantes works diligently during the day to try to avoid a more active roll in the inevitable Bloody Hour.
Profession (fisherman)
Insulted at being ignored, Chumtooth gives a deep feral growl, grabs the harpoon and drives it point-down into the deck next to the short, hairy Other's foot.
He slowly turns and walks back towards the green skinned Other who spoke to him.
"The female green skinned Other? This one has Chumtooth's weapons? Chumtooth will speak with this one when night comes."
He retrieves his holystone and resumes swabbing.
The elf grins as he finds the bottle of whiskey. A good find indeed, far better than the rotgut that they served them at night. He could definitely use this to his advantage, perhaps convince the quartermaster to return all of his gear to him - or at least the essential bits.
Whistling nonchalantly, he slips the whiskey on his person to stash away elsewhere before getting back to work.
Satinder hums a song while working diligently!
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As evening shadows grow long, the Bloody Hour arrives. A few crewmen are given some lashes for failure to perform, but there are no keelhaulings this night.
Dinner tonight is turtle stew, and the crew gives a cheer for Dantes and Kroop, who manage to make it both edible and a pleasant experience. After dinner, rum rations are doled out.
It seems like a perfect time to indulge and ingratiate himself with the crew once again. Seeing how he was batting two for two the previous nights, and he had an ace up his sleeve, the elf sidles up to the half-orc quartermaster, rum cup in hand and dry as a bone.
"You know, as much as I love drinking the same thing night after night, on occasion I feel like we need to have ourselves a change of pace, don't you agree?" He asks her, before pulling out the dwarven whiskey and showing it to her. "A woman of your station requires a beverage befitting it, after all. And who am I to deny you that?"
"This rum is weak!" Chumtooth bellows after taking a deep quaff from his mug.
He scowls at the other crew members, especially those who seem to be taken by the drink.
He spots the pointy-eared Other talking to the green-skinned female Other with the beautiful scar, and approaches them.
"This one has Chumtooth's weapons. Chumtooth wants them back," he says, without standing on ceremony.
Seeing that everyone else wants to chat with the quarter-master, and that she has turned into a bit of a dead-end for him, Bangkha takes advantage of her distraction to slip down to the store and see if he can find any of his missing gear.
Maybe it's time i started making friends...
Satinder will spend the night singing one of her favourite sea sshanties after drinking her portion of rum where everyone can see it clearly, most likely having a tiny drinking contest with Jack Scrimshaw.
Afterwards, feeling the effect of the alcohol, she will try to win him (Jack Scrimshaw) over by having him talk and talk, occasionally interrupted by a "You don't say?", a giggle, or a "Tell me more...".
Feeling the alcohol still running through her veins, and hating herself for the job she nearly blew and the failure at befriending Jack, she starts talking to her closest sitting female companion, "Badger" Medlar
Before you know it they are talking about many things, including men, breasts, their parents, the fact that nobody appreciates good cooking ("You know, the turtle soup really needed thsis and that and...") and the joy of having your moonblood when there's a storm at sea....
[Dice=Influence "Badger" Medlar]1d20 +2 +2 +2[/dice]
Chumtooth looks at both of them intently.
"Pointy Ears has made an oath. This One with the beautiful scar will return Chumtooth's weapons when Chumtooth comes to the store tomorrow."
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The half-orc stands to her full height, very nearly equaling Chumtooth's. "Pointy-ears don't speak fer me, toothy. You wants your weapons back, you has ta offer somethin' of equal worth! Them's the captain's rules, not mine."
Turning to Alwen, she adds, "'Course, if you was ta ask me nicely..."
Unfortunately, your expedition is cut short when Mr. Plugg unexpectedly enters the hold. "Ye be lookin' fer somethin', laddie? Trouble, mayhap? Store's closed."
The conversation with Jack goes awkwardly, then turns sour. After only a brief time, he shouts, "Get lost, peg-leg! You and your friends are poison!"
The encounter with "Badger" goes much more smoothly and she soon joins you in laughing and making merry.
Indeed, your pipe playing soon has the crew wound up in reels and general merriment.
He runs a hand over his scalp, feeling some green stubble starting to poke through. "That, and if I don't give myself a shave soon, my head will look like its covered in moss, and nobody wants to see that."
Chumtooth looks at both of them for a moment, the breaks into a rumbling laugh.
"This one with the beautiful scar wants a mounting, Pointy Ears! Go to the hammock, and make sweat and groaning. Both will be happy in the morning. Ask for Chumtooth's weapons in trade, and Chumtooth will keep the Others from attacking Pointy Ears. Yes?"
Satinder shouts back, uncaring who might hear her: "Well frak you too, zitface! Hope you cut up your hands playing with that little knife of yours!! $^#@+*! "
She spits on the floor, knocks over some mugs and starts talking to miss Medlar. She even uses her index finger to strike her own neck, indicating a sting of a bee or hornet, while watching Jack walk away from her.
Bangkha scowls at Plugg, but departs to bed.
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Day four, and it promises to be a hot one. Once the crew has assembled on deck, daily assignments are given out by Mr. Plugg.
Assignments - Day Four
Alwen - Upper Rigging Work: Work in the upper rigging, 50 feet up, requiring eight DC 10 Climb checks, followed by a DC 10 Profession (sailor) or Dexterity check.
Bangkha - Rat Catcher: Catching rats and other vermin belowdecks, requiring either a DC 10 Stealth check, Survival check, or Dexterity check to catch and kill enough rats, cockroaches, and beetles for a good day’s work.
Ayaki - Rat Catcher: Catching rats and other vermin belowdecks, requiring either a DC 10 Stealth check, Survival check, or Dexterity check to catch and kill enough rats, cockroaches, and beetles for a good day’s work.
Chumtooth - Rat Catcher: Catching rats and other vermin belowdecks, requiring either a DC 10 Stealth check, Survival check, or Dexterity check to catch and kill enough rats, cockroaches, and beetles for a good day’s work.
Satinder - Rat Catcher: Catching rats and other vermin belowdecks, requiring either a DC 10 Stealth check, Survival check, or Dexterity check to catch and kill enough rats, cockroaches, and beetles for a good day’s work.
Dantes - Special Occasion: Captain Harrigan is celebrating something today, and wants one of the ship’s pigs butchered and cooked for dinner. You must make a DC 10 Profession (cook) or Survival check to slaughter the animal, then clean, cut, and prepare the carcass. This requires a DC 15 Profession (cook) or Intelligence check.
Let me know what your ship action for the day will be, please.