Geoffrey's Finest (Inactive)

Game Master CampinCarl9127

Though Dalton was quiet, the mention of that single barkeep as security for the place caught his interest. There is something more than meets the eye here. It was Bjorkus's domain though, and he did not deign to interfere with it.

As they walked, he peered into some of the stalls and shops, glancing at the wares. Some were clearly asking for more then their valuables' value, but others weren't a bad bargain. "If I had a collection of sorts, these shells would make a fine addition."

He nodded to the direction to the ship. Friends in low places, it is. "I certainly wouldn't mind meeting one of the trade." This whole business with the Aestherics might have turned-out to be indirectly good for business as well.

Toramin nods at Bjorkus' caution.

It is never too early to be wary of one's enemies. If these last few months were any indication we have more enemies than even we know about.

"I will follow your lead here, Bjorkus. You know the lay of the land here. I keep waiting for Heff to pop out of thin air."

Blithely unaware of her brother's concerns, Ianna too trails after the bull. "I know a little about crafting jewelry. I find that kind of metal work to be quite relaxing."

The priestess intellectually understood that they would be in danger in a few hours, but recapturing a ship seemed more a lark out of a story than a real thing people do.

Leading the party up to one of Balgradash's higher levels, Bjorkus opens the door to a tiny but visibly well fortified structure. A bell up above chimes loudly as its knocked by the bull's efforts.

"I see you still haven't shaved those rats off the side of your head", he comments as an impressively fat middle aged human man waddles into the front room of the shop to greet them. Thick shaggy sideburns run the length of his round face down to the point of his chin.

"This is Greg. We've traded favors in the past and his boy Halfus helped me out of a scrap last time I was in town."

"Greg, these are some friends - Toramin, Ianna, Rilka, and Dalton. Don't be tellin' anyone but we're here to take the Storm back from that bastard Blakros."

I'll RP the jeweler, but feel free to go there.

The jeweler's belly enters the room a full second before the rest of him, and his massive mutton chops are second. In fact he almost looks a bit like Dalton with his clothes and physique, except for the darker hair and a beard. He laughs loudly at Bjorkus's comment. "And you're still a walking rug." He walks over and gives each person a handshake, warmly greeting them all, his gaze lasting a hair longer on Dalton. At the mention of taking the Storm back he sighs and takes a seat. "Well I suppose I should lay low for a few days than. I wish you didn't tell me that so I could be sincere with my ignorance. But if you're telling me you probably need something." He replies, gazing over his spectacles.

Bjorkus snorts and shakes his head. "This rug needs a hand alright. I need what you're good at - gettin' information. I should have known this wasn't gunna be easy but I got the impression from the Minnow that someone here in Balgradash's got their eyes on me. You heard 'bout anyone a bit too interested in me or my business? Maybe Barry and his bunch of thugs?"

"Probably Blakros. You visited a while back and people noticed, everybody thought you were dead so when you suddenly showed up again it must have set him on edge. I imagine you've already shown your face in public too."

"I sure f#&#in' have", Bjorkus admits. "That bastard bein' tipped off might make this a lot messier. Blakros won't think twice about torturing whatever crew's left on the Storm to send a message. The last thing I want is another hostage stand off. You know who in Balgradash might be on his payroll? Maybe we can cut off the message before it gets out."

Greg shakes his head. "Can't say I know the people that specifically. You might have to go into some of the dark corners of Balgradash to learn that info, and you might have to do something you don't like."

Bjorkus rumbles unhappily. "It sounds like you know more than you're sayin'. What kinda things? And who are we talkin' about?"

"No, I'm just telling you that information like that isn't easy to get. That's the kinda stuff us poor shopkeepers don't pick up on. That's the kind of information that gets us killed."

"Then we need a site to hide out until the Storm comes in. You know someplace we can lay low where Balgradash's eyes and ears can't follow us for a while."

He leans back and strokes his mutton chops, chair squeezing in protest. "I might be able to help you out there. I have a little cave inside one of the dried up coral reefs. It's in the dry part of town and underground, in the back of a butcher's shop. The smell isn't great, but the owner and I have a mutual friendship. Only him and I know about the spot, so you should be able to keep under the radar. It's a good fifteen minutes from the docks though."

"That'll do. Think you can get us there unseen?"

He thinks for another long moment. "Yes, but it won't be comfortable. This butcher, Murcatto, he and I often exchange goods. My appetite for succulent meat is equalled only by his wife's appetite for jewels. I'll get him to send me a large crate of meat, and I'll send you back over in it. Your friends can be the deliverers. I imagine about an hour from now you'll be safely squirreled away." His gaze sweeps the party. "However, you know that nothing is free, and helping you in your current state is terribly risky for me."

"Talk about stickin' it to a bull when he's down. You know I'm short a ship and a crew right now" he rumbles though it's clear from his tone that he's not truly upset by the jeweler' request. "What is it you need? Another load of lobster?"

Greg shrugs his big shoulders. "If you weren't a friend I wouldn't have even made the offer, and we all have to look out for ourselves." He rests his hands over his protruding belly. "You make a fair point though with your current position. How about for now, we say you owe me a favor? Then you can repay me once you're in better standing."

There weren't many Bjorkus trusted with an open favor but Greg was one of them.

"You know I'm good for it", he answers. "You've got a deal."

"Alright than." He gives Bjorkus a handshake to seal the deal, then stands with a grunt and goes to the back. "I'll start working on the note. Make yourselves at home."

Hanging out with the girlfriend this weekend, so my posting may be slim to nonexistent.

Thanks for heads up.

Dalton didn't want to interfere in Bjorkus's dealmaking; his skills as a merchant were more above-board. However, once it had been confirmed...

"Greg is it? I'm Dalton." He offers the jeweler his hand. "I've got a fair taste for gems myself - ran a shop until I started wandering around with these bunch. Maybe we could work together on a few pieces and pass the time? Maybe learn something."

Greg smiles and nods once he comes back. "Yes, you definitely have the attire and looks. I always appreciate expanding my knowledge. Where do you deal, what kind of gems do you primarily handle? Naturally I get a lot of pearls and other such seaborne treasures, and the close proximity with the dwarves is the main reason I stay in this waterlogged hell of a town."

"Softer metals and firmer stones. Pearls were hard to come by in my town." He withdraws some of his recent acquisitions from the dwarves. "Amethyst is a favorite of mine. I tend not to work with mica or quartz as they are easily mimicked, though I like the range of hues one finds with them. Part of the problem I had with pearls is there are so many low quality per each true find. Suppliers seem to know which gems to not waste my time with, but the few times I did sift through pearls, I found a scant few worth purchasing."

"Ah, you prefer the higher quality gems. I always found those as a bit of a risk-reward, as there's a small pool of buyers who can actually afford them. Many pearls may be low quality, but that means you sell them cheaper to people who otherwise couldn't afford them. The quantity makes up for the lack of quality, especially when sailors and pirates are always passing through. But I do keep a small case of very high quality goods that I've collected over the years. A necklace of the finest rubies, a pair of sapphire earrings masterfully carved in a skull and crossbones, a jet lignite wrist bracelet of the darkest midnight black, a pearl half the size of my fist and nearly perfect, and a few others. The kind of things only the richest or most aspiring magicians would purchase."

"If you do go to sea, I would suggest bringing a good moisturizer. All that salt and wind? I know I did. Just because my brother looks like a rock doesn't mean I have to look the same.”

”I thought salt water was good for the skin. Mermaids are supposed to be youthful, right?

---------
She listens to the negotiations between Greg and Bjorkus with half interest as she peruses the jewelry. I guess there are worse ways to hide.

As Greg and Dalton begin talking about gemstones, a smile naturally blooms on her face.

Soon enough a huge crate is brought to the door by four sweating men. They tiredly unpack all the packed meat and leave after Greg hands them some coins. The party then packs Bjorkus into the crate and seals it after some farewells to Greg (who gives Dalton some names to contact him if the urge arises). With a levitation spell and some pushing from Toramin, the streets to Murcatto's butchery are navigated without issue. Murcatto, a pot-bellied man with curly black hair, shows the party a trapdoor in his meat locker that leads down to a hollowed out cave. It's about four and a half feet tall so many of the party find themselves stooping, but it's plenty wide. There are some locked strongboxes in the corners, and after a few minutes Murcatto brings down some blankets and pillows.

At about ten o' clock, Murcatto slips a sealed envelope down into the cave.

The Weapon Master's men
are here and will be at
your side tonight. We will
be wearing red scarfs.

Bjorkus snorts after he finishes looking over the short note.

"Looks like the Aesterics are in position already. Look for men with red scarves - that's them. Now I don't know what to expect once we get on board or what Blakros's has done to my crew but try to go easy on 'em. There's a good chance they're gunna be as confused as Blakros is when this goes down. They're a good crew and I'm sure they've suffered plenty by that sod's hand while he's had 'em."

I'm going to push things forward to give you guys more information to plan.

It's thirty minutes till midnight and a fifteen minute walk when the party climbs out of the cave and starts sneaking through the town. Around the first corner they run into a human with slicked back hair and a curly mustache with a thin sword on his waist. Behind him are eleven men all armed, and every one of them is wearing a red scarf. The mustached man gives a bow and speaks softly. "Greetings, I am Quincy, and these are my men. We are the men that Krokar promised to you for tonight's efforts. We are no experts of this land or town, but we're all capable fighters and swimmers. We are at your disposal."

When the party makes their way to the docks they see their information and Heff's promise were both good, as the Raging Storm is indeed docked on the otherwise vacant section of docks. The ship and crew that would otherwise be obscured by darkness are working under the light of half a dozen torches, pulling cargo off the ship. It takes Bjorkus little time to identify the ones he knows and make note of those that have more power.

• Titus Blakros Standing in the center of the ship and barking orders at everybody else.
• Kal Aldhemark This long-haired human who is dressed in almost rags is sitting at the end of the dock, his feet in the water and looking out to the sea.
• Bandu A bald human with odd tattoos who is grunting every minute or so as he hauls the heavy crates over to the docks.
• Ragnar Sjoson An older man with a salt and pepper beard who is casually leaning against a mass, looking to the south and picking at a lute while he hums.
• Others An elf stands at the back and scrutinizes the nearby buildings, on keen lookout. A reptilian fellow stands next to Blakros and seems to do nothing but reinforce whatever the captain says. And there are fourteen other humans who are working to dock the ship and unload the cargo.

Map

Bjorkus grunts and greets Quincy with a firm handshake.

"Good to meet ya and I appreciate your help. That'll go double if we can kick Blakros's ass without any of my men gettin' killed in the process. Let's see what that bastard's done with my ship since I've been gone."

Once they get closer he takes a few minutes to scan the Storm's deck.

"Some of them are my crew alright. That's Kal, Bandu, and Ragnar. It looks like they're not armed and in no shape to fight. Once things get started make sure they're clear. That big Orc is Blakros - he's mine. Quincy, you and half your men'll siege the deck with me and Toramin. I want the other half to keep their distance and give us cover fire. If Blakros has a spellcaster workin' for him it's on them to bring 'em down or keep him pinned down at least. Rilka, I need you to get below deck and see what's goin' on and if Blakros's got any hostages."

Bjorkus crouches down and draws a crude map of the Storm so he can point out the access points for Rilka.

"Dalton you and Ianna need to keep your distance with Quincy's archers. A scrap on the deck of a ship is close-quarters and bloody. I don't want you gettin' hurt on my account."

"That's Kal, Bandu, and Ragnar. It looks like they're not armed and in no shape to fight."

To be clear, all three are armed and definitely in shape to fight.

~~~

Quincy twirls his mustache. "Seems reasonable. And how, pray tell, shall we approach the vessel to start this scrap? Also, does it matter if we kill anybody who's not one of the four you listed not to?"

Ah, correction:

"Some of them are my crew alright. That's Kal, Bandu, and Ragnar. It looks like they're armed but I don't want 'em getting swarmed. Those three are gunna want to fight to take back the swarm but I didn't come this far to lose 'em now. Gettin' in there and covering them is your first priority. "

***

How far from where we are now is the Raging Storm?

"You and your men should use whatever you got to get aboard but do you have a couple dingies we could use? Some of my friends here aren't the best swimmers. A distraction wouldn't hurt either. It'll take some time to scale the sides of the ship."

"I don't know who the rest of those fools on the deck are but they're no crew of mine. Unless they show themselves to be on our side you cut 'em down."

"Cover them? What if they try to kill us? Wouldn't knocking them out be easier?" One of the men grunts

Quincy looks out at the water. "We're all able swimmers, or we could steal some dingies. Why don't we attack from the water while you attack from land?"

You can get within twenty feet of the southern border of the map without being spotted if you use buildings as cover. After that you're in the open, and I'm treating anything off of the boats and dock as low-light since it's a moonlight night.

"Cover 'em", Bjorkus repeats. "There's gunna be some confusion when the fighting starts but it shouldn't be nothin' you can't handle. Krokar sent me the best didn't he?"

"It's not too far. You and your men can swim and the rest of us will approach by docks. I've got a message charm that we can use to stay in touch. Once your men are in position to haul themselves up onto the deck, I'll make a ruckus."

Quincy makes some clarification to his men and answers some questions from them (he's clearly a leader that encourages challenging his ideas) and then nods to Bjorkus. "Alright than, we're going to get into position. It's a bright night so I can't promise we won't be spotted, but it looks like most of them are pretty busy so hopefully they won't see us. On ruckus we attack. Give us five minutes to get into place, then don't delay too long or we'll get all frozen up in the water."

Quincy and five of his men store up their extra supplies that they don't need, then slip into the frigid water. Quincy gives a quick yelp as it reaches his crotch, but the pirates don't seem to have heard it. They disappear into the depths...

Five minutes pass without incident. The six other Aestherics have climbed onto the buildings and are laying down, bows in hand and ready to attack.

Bjorkus hit Quiney with Message before he took off with his men.

Bjorkus hums a couple bars of a popular pirate chanty before touching himself with a spell to boost his confidence and focus his skills. He retrieves two of his scrimshaw charms and casts similar spells on Rilka and Toramin.

Heroism on Bjorkus for 60 minutes. Rilka and Toramin have it for 30 minutes.

He then quaffs whatever extracts were given to him by Rilka and waits for his companions to do the same.

"Bjorkus, will you invigorate me? It will make me much more mobile in this fight."

Toramain drinks his Shield extract.

I marked it off but forgot to mention it.

Bjorkus shares his surprisingly versatile enchantment with the young dwarf.

"A jeweler and a butcher? Bjorkus, you know just my kinds of passtimes. I may well revisit your contacts!"

The mage remained in good spirits in the cave as they prepared for later. "Hmm, I imagine you'll want your ship in good condition. I will be unable to use my new trick here then..." Dalton flipped through his spellbook. "Well, there is always a substitute. I have heard of mages focusing their studies entirely on fire and lightning. How barbaric! You could do nothing but sear others. In addition to being unbecoming, it's just not useful most of the time..."

Adjusted a few prepared spells.

After a few minutes passed, he shut his book. "Now then, when we are but a few minutes out, let me know. I can bolster your muscles - you too, Toramin. As before, I'll accelerate your actions when I can. Your advice is good though - I plan on staying far away! Though it may seem unfair I don't wish to meet the same fate I did in Toramin's land for you, I daresay I'm a touch more useful upright."

He looked to Ianna. "I'll create a cloud of mist to conceal us. They might know we're in it, but if we stay close to the ground, they'll have a hell of a time guessing our exact positioning."

Casting shield on Dalton when pre-battle is obvious. This will give him an AC of 20.

Dalton kept quiet about his offensive capabilities; the necromancies and the like he might use could bother some folk.

********

The wizard looked the newcomers over. "If you go in as a tight group, I can see to it you're faster than the enemy."

When the charge is imminent, Dalton will haste the lot of them heading into the fray - Bjorkus, Toramin, Rilka, Quincy, and three others (not Ianna or himself).

Quincy and half of his men are swimming out five minutes ahead so hasting him isn't an option. Hitting our support archers with it wouldn't be a bad idea.

"Sounds good to me", Bjorkus answers in reply to Dalton's suite of magics. "I'll take that strength spell of you've got an extra one."

Dalton nodded, placing his hand on the bull's shoulder, which grew in mass. He repeated the process on Toramin."Good luck."

Bull's Strength for 16 minutes. 8 on Toramin.

I have a strength belt, so alas, I cannot benefit from the spell. I would save it.

"I will stay close to you, Dalton. I will confess I've never been awake for a real battle."

She casts Shield of Faith on herself and Dalton to bolster their defenses.

So you do! He'll save it then; I do recall him noticing the belt before now.

"It's nothing to be desired, but something done of necessity."

Rilka greets Quincy and his men with a nod and a smile. I can’t remember if we have a secret hand signal.

Rilka, I need you to get below deck and see what's goin' on and if Blakros's got any hostages."

Bjorkus crouches down and draws a crude map of the Storm so he can point out the access points for Rilka.

Rilka touches each access point as Bjorkus makes them. The map is just an abstraction, but it helps her focus. ”I’ll get in there and find out what I can. Were there oil lamps in the hold? Some other method for light? Hmmm. I’ll make a darkvision extract just in case. Do you want a blistering invective? I’d rather avoid a fir on your ship, but it’s your choice. Here, drink this before fighting, especially if you go into a rage.” She hands Bjorkus a shield extract. Toramin, don’t forget you have one too.

She creates some extracts while the Aesterics are swimming into position. Blood armor. Darkvision. Kinetic Reverberation.

”Toramin, I don’t imagine you’ll get pushed into the sea, but just in case, drink this if that happens. It will help you swim.” She hands him a Touch of the Sea extract.

So, three level 2 extracts made; 1 remaining for the day. Ohh that would be all four level 2 extracts made if Bjorkus wants the blistering invective.

Bjorkus nods and holds the defensive extract in hand. "Let's skip the burning one this time. The Storm's been through enough already."

Once Quincy's men are in position, Bjorkus will quaff his extract and lumber up the docks.

It takes only a second for the elf to spot Bjorkus as he walks out from behind the buildings. The elf raises a bow and draws it, pointing it at Bjorkus in preparation to let the arrow fly. "Shove off half-breed, before you get yourself killed." He's got a killer's gaze and his fingers are already half off of the string.

I moved Bjorkus to where he was when the elf drew a bow on him.

"How 'bout you shove it knife-ears. That there is my ship and I mean to come aboard", he answers the elf's warning.

The bull calls out louder. "I know you can hear me Blakros. Tell your muscle to step aside so we can talk. Or do you not have the stones?"

Message: "The moment we've got a line, I'm chargin' in."

Not precisely afraid of the water, Toramin is quick to drink Rilka's other extract.

**********

Toramin keeps pace with Bjorkus swinging Talev's Legacy in a precise arc. [i]Blakros is Bjorkus'. He will accept nothing less personal combat. Hopefully, I can handle the rest.

Bjorkus doesn't even finish his sentence and the elf releases an arrow in a display of utter lack of mercy. It flies true and plunges into Bjorkus's upper arm, leaving a minor but painful wound. The elf hisses back to the crew. "We got troublemakers on shore, cut them down!"

Init Order
Rilka
Toramin
Bjorkus
Aestherics
Enemy
Ianna
Dalton

MAP

Bjorkus takes 8 damage and the surprise round is over. Rilka, Toramin, and Bjorkus to act! Make sure you check the "Battle Tracking" spoiler to make sure I have everything accounted for, and please make sure your stat line is updated (including bonuses from spells). If I do not have it under the battle tracking spoiler or if you do not have your stat line updated, I am not taking the abilities/proper numbers into account.

I currently have a +8 to my swim checks. :-p