Ol' Salty watches the elf scamper off and thinks to himself Ye forgot to sign... sigh.
Taking out his dagger, Ol' Salty makes a tiny cut along his pinky. Rubbing it with his thumb, he makes an imprint and signs next to it "Ol' Salty".
Lil' Fisher does the same with his little paw, and makes the imprint next to Ol' Salty.
"Iffyer don't be mindin, I could use a strong arm to carry somethin for me.
Bellamy cheerfully waived the document in front of his eyepatched face, then signed it; his scrawl trailing off the page and onto the table.
Reijo simply scoffs at Yamtisy's lack of enthusiasm. Reijo then takes his sweet time reading the contract very carefully, muttering gruff words under his breath here and there as he goes. Finally, he signs the document with a "Hmpf."
A smirk then comes over his face at mention of the complimentary rooms. "Pair o'rooms, eh? Mighty kind o'ye, Cap'n." Looking at Nhati and Suny, his smirk widens. "Whaddye say, me lovelies? Ye ne'er gots t'see me in tha buff... now be yer chance, eh?" The salty sailor is sure to wink at the ladies as he is also sure to flex his strong forearm muscles before rolling down and securing his frilly sleeves, covering his tattoos again. He cough-laughs as the ladies respond (or don't!) and goes on to replace his mail haubergeon back over his head, securing his armor once more.
Though he cannot help but wince a few times as he does so. Despite his armor, that Huldren sure gave his ribcage a bruising.
The quicker to be reporting for duty on the morning tide etc.
Unfortunately for Suny, as she stands at the dockside and looks over the ships in the harbor... none of them appear to be the Magpie Princess. There are a pair of the ship's boats with the markings of a crow and crown on them... but those are probably just the launches. You hope.
"Boarders and repellers, aye? Those be the greates' jobs a pirate can have! Besides captain, of cours'."
Vik signs the document in an oddly sophisticated script, then shrugs as to the dividing of the rooms.
"Whateve' works. I gotta go get me stuff, so I'll be back."
She retrieves her gear from her hidden rowboat, but leaves the actual rowboat there, seeing no need to bring it with her.
Dawn comes earlier than it ever should. Fatigue from the pair of bar fights and impromptu race across town has every muscle in your bodies groaning, begging, for more sleep. Not to mention the hangovers. Reijo in particular, despite his years of drunken debauchery and antics, has one for the books.
As you arrive at the docks, you find Captain Lanteri addressing a dozen crew members of various dispositions. Most of them look as ragged as you. Clearly enjoying the Rum Punch Festival. A well-dressed young man stands beside the captain, a hand on the rapier at his waist. On the other side scowls a sun-kissed woman with a nasty scar running down her cheek. She sports heavy leathers and a pair of razor-sharp blades at her side. Lanteri nods as you approach, satisfied you were able to follow this simple instruction. "Good, you've all managed to make it. I'm sure there'll be time for you to get to know who's who later, but suffice it to say that this here's Heartbreak Jinsen, steward of my fine vessel, and this lovely lady here is Iulia Antoninia, our quartermaster. While Jinsen and I handle this lot, Iulia's going to handle you. Try not to screw it up."
With a shrill whistle and a wave of her hand, she sends the dozen other crewmen scattering back towards Lilywhite proper. Jinsen and Lanteri follow behind, barking new orders. The human woman left with you deepens her scowl. You're pretty sure she might hurt something if she keeps that up. "So yer the new blood, eh? Don't look like much ta me, but that's the Capn's fault. I need you lot to run a few errands for me, keeping the ship ship-shape, yeah? For you lot..." She considers this for a moment, stroking her chin as though she wished herself an evil wizard-type stroking his evil beard. "... the masthead. It's broked, and you'll be replacing it. Easy enough for you landlubbers and old fogies?"
Nhati arches one eyebrow. "More tests?" she asks. "My understanding was that we were brought on board to help the Captain with her treasure-hunting, dealing with whatever ancient guards and traps might be in place. But, I suppose if you want us to run menial errands, we can do that...."
"Do you already have a replacement masthead, or are we supposed to procure that as well? Or, are we supposed to repair it?"
Reijo arises slowly but surely in the morning amidst much huffing and grunting. His ribs still cry out in pain from Huldren's blow, and have turned a deep purply blue now. And his head throbs from a night he can barely recall... though a few fond moments come to him from his meeting two lovely ladies (not Nhati and Suny) whom he invited from the fight audience. Despite the captain's warning, he stayed out drinking with those two... and then some.
...
Reijo grunts at the new acquaintances. Puffing his pipe as Iulia gives her command, Reijo scowls at her assumption of his lack of skill at sea, Landlubber me arse! He immediately begins to discern what's needed to repair the masthead. If he knows where to expect materials and tools (e.g. perhaps he knows the type of ship it is and where supplies are usually kept), he simply walks off to retrieve them without waiting for the quartermaster's response to Nhati. Otherwise, he awaits her answer. But either way, he tries to look like he knows exactly what he's doing.
'At masthead ain't be th'only broken thing 'round 'ere... he thinks as he reflexively and notably freezes up here and there whenever the sharp pain of his wound strikes him.
Ol' Salty is out with the rest of them, warmed up and ready to start working. He's left his armor, sleeping gear, and altar back in the inn. It wasn't too hard moving everything to the new inn, but it took several trips since he was on his own.
As Nhati speaks to Iulia, he thinks to himself Well that's one way teh talk t'anew Quartermaster.
He waits to see if Nhati will get a reprimand, or if they'll get new details.
Bellamy gives a sloppy salute.
"Aye aye ma'am!" he shouted genially.
He proceeded to help fix the masthead as best he can.
Suny spends the previous evening sight seeing about the town
Come the morning and the appearance of the ships she'll be sailing on she organizes both herself and her gear.
With a long, graceful, curved blade across her back and various other implements strapped and secured about her tanned person.
Upon shaking the water from her hair and being introduced to Master Jinsen and Miss Antoninia, Suny gives her seeming standard bounce to attention, snapping a salute and an "Aye AYE! Cap'n!" in reply to Captain Lanteri. Thence she 'stands too' and awaits Miss Antoninia's words.
At the command to repair the mast Suny tilts her head and seems to be thinking about something for a moment before she simply shrugs and thence begins to scamper around helping with said orders.
Iulia shakes her head at the overly eager sailors in front of her. "Ain't got a replacement. And unless yer a carpenter by trade, I reckon all the nails in the world ain't gonna fix it. Let's just say we had a bit of a scrap on the way here, aye?" The woman sighs, then tosses a small leather sack at your feet. "Should be enough in there to buy a replacement. Then you can figure out how to stick 'er on the ship."
A glance into the sack reveals a full 250 gold pieces. The woman eyes you carefully as you do so. "Spend it on booze and women and we'll have our first keelhaulin' in a while." She pauses, reminiscing. "I miss those. Ah, and keep a lookout for anyone who might be followin' ya around town."
"Aye Aye Quartermaster. After we buy teh replacement, where be the ship that we can do the replacing?"
Orisons: Create Water, Detect Magic, Discern North, Guidance, Mending
1st: Comprehend Languages, Heightened Awareness, Read Weather, Wave Shield
2nd: Aid, Augury, Calm Emotions
Selecting Life.
Detect Undead
Lesser Restoration
Channel Energy 1+Cha mod
Iulia grumbles and glances off towards the Captain. To her chagrin, Lanteri is already too far ahead to bother calling back to handle the issue. "Fine. We're moored in a nearby cove. Ye won't find it without someun' to show ya the way, so just bring me or the Cap'n the masthead when you've got it. We'll find a few suckers to send as guides for ye."
"Ye be serious? Repairing a ship?"
This is muttered under Vik's breath, of course, as she listens to Iulia talk.
Spoken out loud, "Shall we go about gettin' this replacement, then?"
"Aye. Sooner we get it, the better. There are two rules on a ship: Do what yer superiors tell ya, and 'elp those whom need it. It ain't bout love, tis bout keepin the ship afloat."
"There should be a shop a ways from 'ere that'll sell what we need. Let's get going eh?"
The best place (and really, the only place) in Lilywhite to get a proper masthead is Hartha's Headstones. The dwarf that ran the place was a master craftswoman when it came to wood of all shapes and sizes - it was actually a bit of a shame that her business in Lilywhite revolved more around putting people in the ground instead of putting their images on a plinth. Still, Hartha did enough odd jobs that anyone who knew anything about Lilywhite went to her for all of their wood craft, big or small.
She runs her shop out of a smaller building back on the mainland, overlooking one of the many narrows of the inner bay. There's no sign advertising the name or trade, but the door and all of the building's support posts are decorated with elaborate imagery of everything from gravestones, to religious symbols, to sailing ships upon carved tides.
Skips off with every one else to get the needed piece of wood for the ship. (^_^)
When the group is ready to leave, Ol' Salty will cast Heighten Awareness on himself. He gains +2 on all perception and knowledge checks, and can end the effect for a +4 to initiative. He's casting this because the Quartermaster has warned them of thieves or stalkers, and he wants his first job done well. The effect lasts for 40 minutes.
"'ere, Viktorra" says Ol' Salty as he picks up the bag of coins. "We can trust ya with this right?"
(^_^)
*Giggles*
*Makes offer to Lil' Fisher to sit on her shoulder.. or head... which ever gives the lil' feller the best view* (^_^)
Reijo queries the quartermaster with ship jargon for specifics on the right size of the masthead, "...else me be wastin' me time an' yer coin fer a new parchment weight."
When Ol' Salty asks Vik to take the coin pouch, the paranoid sailor is quick to snatch it from the old man's hand! "No werries, Ol' Sappy. Them pieces be safe in me hands." Giving the old man a sly grin, he adds, "Ye an' she can come if ye likes. Though ye best not be holdin' me back with yer old, lame arse."
Ol' Salty may not trust Reijo, but Reijo trusts noone.
Ol' Salty lets Reijo snatch the bag. He says nothing to the sailor.
Perhaps I should've prepared Hold Person instead...
Lil' Fisher curls around Suny's shoulders ^-^
He needs a little help since he can't fly right now
Suny is more than happy to lift the otter up onto her shoulders and help him settle in. (^_^)
The complete lack of movement or light from the interior of Hartha's Headstones meant that Hartha was probably still sleeping. Not really surprising, since it was about eight hours too early for the post-Rum Punch Lilywhite to awaken.
Guess you'll either be giving her a rude awakening or waiting for gods know how long. At least you haven't been followed. Maybe Iulia's just paranoid?
Reijo keeps the sack of gold in a concealed inner pocket of his brown coat. Ever watchful, the paranoid pirate is on the lookout for anyone suspicious looking their way.
Once at Hartha's, he does not hesitate to knock on the front door. If there's no response within 30 seconds, he knocks again, and more loudly this time.
Suny wanders about the building/place looking interestedly at every thing.
Absently scratching gently at Lil' Fisher as she does so.
After the third or fourth series of increasingly louder knocks, the door opens and a half-asleep but decidedly ticked off dwarf woman glares up at Reijo. "What in the hells are you doing? Last time I checked it was the day after Rum Punch. Lilywhite tradition is work don't start 'til... well, really, tomorrow. So I'll just pretend this is a bad dream and we can all go back to sleep now."
You don't notice anyone in particular following or observing your group more than normal. If you're being followed, they're obviously quite good at it.
Reijo grins as he looks down upon the dwarven woman. "Ye best rise an'shine, Sleepy." He taps his coat where the coin purse was placed, emitting the familiar sound of jingling coins. "Less ye wish me t'take me gold elsewhar..."
Ol' Salty is staying at the back of the group
Hartha grumbles but midway through it turns into a yawn. She scratches her head absentmindedly, still just barely out of the sack. Right now she'd look right at home with a full, proper dwarven beard. "Alright, alright... you speak the right language, at least. This better be good. What'd ya need?"
Continuing to grin as if slightly amused by the sleepy woman, "A masthead, it be. Intrested?"
"Mastheads, aye..." She stops to consider this for a moment.
No, wait, she's just falling asleep. After a moment she jerks back to attention. "Ah, yes, hmm... I suppose I could arrange for a new piece. I've got a few bases to work with that have just been collecting dust in the back of the shop. But even still, I couldn't have it done any sooner than... two weeks, maybe, at best. And that little purse there better be mighty heavy, because it won't be cheap."
The 250 gp in the pouch given to you would not be an abnormal price to pay for a decent masthead. Like anything, the quality is largely dependent on who you have making it and how much money you're giving them.
As for rushing the job... well, that's a bit more variable. Hartha might be willing to rush the job for extra cash, or a favor, or maybe she's one of those sticks in the mud that follows her schedule to a T.
"Aye, Sleepy. I be supposin' ye could." The sailor's face contorts into a grimace now. "But ye can surely be doin' be'er than two bloody weeks, lass?" Reijo's maniacal grin returns now. "C'mon now, surely ye be in need o' somethin' in return fer expeditin' things, eh?"
Having looked in all the nearby shop windows, Suny skips back over and listens/looks in on the conversation with the lady who's going to be doing the ship's wood working. She smiles brightly/happily to the lass. (^_^)
"Hmm... I suppose." Again she strokes her invisible beard. "There has been a thing buggin' the hell outta me. Usually I get all my wood from Taryn, but the man's stock has run dry. Some problem with beasties inland, or something. You'll have to talk with him about it... but if you get him to get me the wood I want, then I'll see about a rush job for you. Maybe even with a discount, heh." Something about her posture tells you that you shouldn't bet on that discount.
"But o' course you wan' us to do somethin'. How do we get ther'?"
"To Taryn? He'll probably be down at his lumberyard sometime today, if'n he ain't already." Hartha yawns widely before adding, "If you were at the big ol' parade and fireworks and all that, that was Taryn's. You'll probably still find a few drunkards between the planks there."
"Ah! I remember tha' place!" Suny chirps brightly before she skips off towards the group's new destination.
Lurking in the back, Nhati listens to the exchange. "Beasties, eh? I suppose we could do something about that, if that really is the case. Rats in his cellar, perhaps?"
She will head to Taryn's with the others. As she does so, she'll ask her parrot familiar Tai to fly up overhead and keep an eye on them, watching like the others to see if we're being followed. He he sees anything, she'll know that something's up through their emphatic link, and he'll come back and tell her about it.
"Aye, lass. Be seein' ya soon, so ye best be catchin' up on yer beauty sleep b'fore me return."
Reijo heads off in the same direction as Suny, enjoying her bouncing self from behind as he lights up his pipe. "'At ne'er gets old."
Lil Fisher holds on for dear life