"We might..." She stops and considers if she's heard about ships with red sails from her time in Riddleport.
Throwing himself into any task he can over the next to days along with trying to figure out where they are going. Azlant! Inheritor why am I here? Was I on the wrong path Many times, when he has no task, Conri can be found staring at the tattoos on his hands or just staring up at the sky.
There is an odd pleasure to be found that there is another half-orc here and that no one seems to be waiting for him to snap. Content to sit in silence with Kahurangi during the night, unless the strange man want to talk.
Red sails can't be a good sign. Twisting his head and looking out to see the ship.
Janus spends the days of calm helping with whatever tasks unskilled help can benefit, or simply drumming quietly. He does not speak often, if at all.
When the red sails appear he looks out at them with some apprehension, he hand drifting up to the handle of his huge club.
"They've got a man signaling on the bow, says they want to talk. It'd be... bad form to attack first. Keep yourselves at the ready, but an attack at this point could backfire on us. We'll have to see what they want."
Annika and several others rack their brains, but only she remembers well enough what this ship might be. The others remember that red sails aren't much the purview of pirates, but beyond that the meaning eludes them. However, the young woman spent many hours on Riddleport's docks, and she knows the people who sail such a vessel may be no better than pirates. As the boat approaches even more, she spots the flag she expects; an infinity symbol wrapped around a phoenix and an ancient symbol she's seen perhaps only once or twice before, all on a golden backgrop. The ship belongs to the Aspis Consortium, a cabal of merchants with deep pockets and questionable morals. Of course, that doesn't explain why they're flagging the ship down. While most don't view the Consortium too unfavorably, Annika is all to aware of how quickly the pallor of respectability can vanish when dealing with Aspis agents. It'd be smart to proceed with caution.
"Oh joy," Annika mutters when they're finally close enough for the flag to be visible. "Be ready to fight, but don't provoke them. That's the Aspis Consortium. I've met pirates who are nicer people than the average Aspis Agent. They're usually 'business men' but they'll stab you in the back if they think it's profitable."
"Exciting, my first experience with pseudo pirates!"
"Businessmen are pretty much all just pirates in nicer clothes." Marcus snarked.
He checked over his gear, snapping open his new prototype trap and hanging it from his belt in easy reach.
Gallidren will hold before casting the enchantment on his bow. "If we can avoid bloodshed through diplomacy, then we should do so. If they are business men, then we should be able to reason with them."
Grinning over at Gallidren, "Depends on the kind of business they do."
The shaman gave a knowing nod to Conri. "Exactly."
I'm not going to suffer the same fate as many of the others in my tribe!
Captain Gallifrey listens to the sentiments of the crew, several of them mirroring Annika's concern. "They don't appear to be ready for an attack, so I suppose we'll have to hear them out." He looks over his shoulder to the party, then sighs. "You lot can handle yourselves, right? Just be ready, in case this turns sour." With that, the captain closes his spyglass and tells the crew to lay anchor. Within a few minutes, the Aspis ship has come up alongside your own, and an olive-skinned man walks up across the gangplank with several sailors behind him. His well-made coat flaps in the ocean breeze, and he greets the lot of you with a grin that raises the hair on the back of your neck. As he lands on deck, his coat billows up and away, exposing a small bronze badge affixed to his belt.
"Ah, how... fortuitous that we could meet! I had hoped to find time to speak with you before you left port from Absalom, but I was waylaid by a storm. I was informed you'd already left port, and I've been looking for you since." His grin grows wider, as he extends a hand to Captain Gallifrey, who stares him down for a moment before accepting the handshake. Afterward, he offers his hand to each of you in turn, going down the line. "My name is Menos Géroux, and I'm happy to tell you I'm here to propose the business opportunity of a lifetime. The organization I am here to represent has a, how you say, vested interest in laying claim to Azlanti artifacts. With your new colony, you stand to be in a very profitable position, by partnering with us. You hand over anything you find, while I and my organization deal with the sales of these items back in Avistan. Once the items have sold, we can return and deliver your portion of the proceeds, minus our cut and seller's fees, of course." He pauses for a moment, looking to gauge your reactions, then straightens to his full height. "In return, we only ask for some basic hospitality within your new colony, and a seat on whatever governing body you create so that we might better pursue our interests."
"The deal of a lifetime, wouldn't you say?"
More like the swindle of a lifetime. At the point of a blade, no less. Janus tries to keep his distaste and unease off his face. This is over my pay grade, anyway.
Marcus couldn't stop himself from laughing out loud. As soon as it started he tried to stop it, but it mostly just turned his laugh into a derisive snort.
Gallidren joins the conversation, "Greetings Menos Géroux, I am Gallidren Aerenduill, a humble passenger on this ship. Why would Captain Gallifrey and his sponsors back at Absalom want to enter into this business arrangement when we can easily sell any found artifacts when our ship returns to port to restock the colony?"
"Well, as I've no doubt you've figured out, the seas can be quite... deadly. Anyone who might be looking to profit from your misfortune could easily attack your vessel and steal whatever it is you might be carrying." Menos looks about at some of the remnants of the fight with the sahuagin, and raises an eyebrow. "It seems you already know what I mean. My employer has access to a larger fleet of ships and can afford to pay for better protection than you could, I'm sure. You could attempt to sell on your own, but what would happen if your only ship were to be attacked and taken on the open sea? You'd be stranded with no supplies and no way to call for help; not a pretty picture, no?"
"Just so we're clear, you're here to tell us you're wanting to extort us out of everything we're working towards, trying to leverage a seat in our governing body, and then you're threatening us with piracy if we don't give you what you want." Marcus ticked off the points on his fingers. "Do I have all that right?"
Marcus deftly tossed something off the edge of the ship and into the water. It looked like a metal rod with a blackened tip.
So, one of the fun little toys Marcus carries around in his tool kit is a short steel rod with an adamantine arrowhead set into it. (I paid for a few individual adamantine arrows at 8gp a piece)
I'd intended to use it as a sort of ultimate chisel in case we ran into a door I needed to cut the hinges off of or something, or use the arrow heads as trap components.
I'm pretty sure it will go through the hull of a boat like butter, especially if it's propelled by TK Blast over and over.
So, at this point, Marcus is beginning the process of turning our new friend's ship into swiss cheese.
As oblivious as ever, Janus simply tries to keep his face impassive. His fingers begin tapping out a quiet, ominous rhythm on his drum.
"I swear I said something about not provoking a fight..." Annika mutters. Though she doesn't look particularly like she wants to apologize to the man either.
Crossing his arms and tilting his head to the side while looking the man up and down. "Most people would tell about their employer. About the company they are part of. That tends to be a large selling point. Like if you were a member of the Pathfinders, that would be a big selling point."
Uncrossing his arms and shrugging, "But you say nothing. You are not doing a very good job at convincing anyone."
Taking a few steps forward, "You wanna try all of that again?"
Grinning at the human man in a way that shows off all of his teeth, "Maybe start with who you work for and then why we should entertain this possible business venture. Cause the sea is dangerous and your ships could fall to so that is not the best selling point."
Gallidren looks coldly at Menos. "We will not be intimidated by your threats. I assure your sir, we can take care of ourselves. Do not underestimate our resolve."
"Oh I get it, like that Sahuagin attack you set upon the vessel?! That's a not so subtle hint right?
I mean, we certainly kicked their fishy smelling asses back into the sea but how many can we expect to beat back?
Still, your offer seems like it could use something more to sweeten the deal. Maybe some membership in the consortium? A greater split on the profits than, "we'll get you some unspecified amount back after we take out fees".
That's a crappy deal, makes me think we could end up owing you money if the goods mysteriously sell at a loss.
In fact, I have to wonder why you didn't propose some sort of deal before we left Absalom. Then we could have negotiated and saved you the trouble of sailing all the way out here to be told no.
Not that I'm saying no of course, I'm not the decision maker around here, just that I'd think a counteroffer should be made by the Captain. I mean I would..."
Marcus waits for Menos to turn his head before tossing his makeshift tool into the water, and the sailor doesn't seem to notice a thing. He does, however, notice the attitude of the party quickly shifting against him. "You dare to imply the Consortium would pay to have you attacked by those... barbaric fish people? That we would be less than honorable in our dealings with you? That we would purposefully short you the payment you deserve for doing the legwork?" Menos's face is flush with anger, but the man does his best—albeit not good enough—to calm himself. "You all insult both my honor and that of my employer. I believe you... you all owe me both an apology and a great deal more respect. Such a fledgling colony should think twice before pushing away one of the most powerful trade organizations in Avistan."
Captain Gallifrey looks at the man for a moment, then raises an eyebrow at Donkor. "He's right. They're all right. Those sahuagin killed some of my men, and if you sent them, well... you ought to get the hell off of my ship. Now." The captain draws his blade with a scowl, and some of the sailors on deck follow suit.
"Fine." Menos waves a hand and his men turn and head back toward his ship, and he glares at the party before turning to leave. "But don't say I didn't warn you." He whips around, and his coattails billow furiously behind him as the gangplank is pulled up. As the Aspis ship begins to pull away, Menos gives you all another hearty glare before directing the ship away back onto the open sea.
Perception
"Is it too late to say sorry!?" screams Donkor as they sail away.
He turns to the Captain, "If I may be so bold... I think we should strike at them and now. They will come back I fear".
Grinning at Donkor's sass, "Possibly we should or we could be inviting war with them. So far we have only slighted them and that has happened to them many times."
Gallidren shoulders his bow and nods at Donkor. "I'm afraid you're right, they won't give up that easily. Next time may not be so pleasant. We must remain on guard."
He sighs and stares out on onto the western horizon. "I pray we make land fall soon."
Marcus let his hand linger over the edge of the ship's rail for a moment and a small black rod hopped up out of the water and into his grip. He slipped it into his pocket.
"Should have let him keep talking a while longer." Marcus said. "Or taken him hostage."
Janus rumbles deep in his chest, accented by a satisfied drum rhythm, "Why? What more could we have learned by continuing to talk to the maggot?"
"How much do you think it costs to run their little sea-bandit operation? How much do you think a guy like that'so time is worth?" Marcus shrugged. "You don't beat groups like Aspis with outright force. You beat them by making what the want so damn expensive that they decide to go after easier marks."
"The longer he was here with us, the more expensive it was getting for them."
Nodding, "Marcus is right. We currently cannot take them by force. We just have to make them no want to deal with us."
The lanky youth shrugs, "Well, the nice thing about being young and inexperienced is that I'm not sure what I can't do unless I fail. Course, failure has a price I suppose.
I'll defer to you all on this. I am more of a talker after all".
He turns to the Captain, "Full speed ahead but maybe on a bit of a zig zag course so we're not so easy to track?"
"I have a feeling that's going to bite us in the ass later..." Annika mutters as the pissed off Aspis agent takes his leave. "But I guess it's too late to do anything about it now. Not that there were a lot of options to begin with I guess." She sighs and rubs her eyes. Growing up in the rough part of a bad town made it easy to tell when someone was the big man on the block, and Aspis certainly thought they were if their agent was any indication.
"I'd blow him out of the water, but it wouldn't do us any good. Aspis knows he's here, sinking his ship isn't likely to do much more than have them come back in force. Making ourselves more trouble than we're worth is probably our best bet, but how much is a direct link to Azlant worth to the Consortium?" The captain sighs, his hand off his blade as he runs his fingers through his hair. He waves for the men to go back to their stations, then sighs. "We would be too lucky to not see him again, of that I'm sure."
"As for landfall, I'm afraid we've still got quite a ways to go before we land on the continent. However, there's a small island on our current course; I plan to stop to look for fresh water and any replacements for the supplies we lost to the sahuagin. That, and I think some of the passengers would appreciate solid land under their feet."
Janus cocks his head at the captain, a quick drumroll emphasizing his question while masking his words for those further away, "What else draws you this island?"
"A deserted island with a mystery?" A huge grin split Annika's face. It sounds like exactly the kind of adventure that she was looking for when she signed on to the voyage.
"Most mysteries make for good stories!"
Grinning and nodding, "Solid ground would be a beautiful thing."
Gallidren nods his agreement to Conri. "Yes, let's find this island."
Captain Gallifrey looks at Janus in shock; it's unclear whether the question just took him off-guard, or if he's surprised the big man picked up on him leaving something out. "I'm not sure what you mean. The island, while far from what was the Azlanti mainland, was still likely a part of their empire. We could find some traces of them there, I suppose? I... there's nothing else there I'm hoping to find, if that's what you mean. I'm just glad we'll have a place to restock after our incident with the sahuagin. That's all. Nothing more to it." Captain Gallifrey begins to walk away toward his cabin, and lets out a hefty sigh as he does so. "Just make sure you're ready to land."
"That means get sleep now." Marcus said, mostly to himself. He made his way below decks to his hammock and tried to get some rest before facing an unknown island.
"I'll make sure to do just that captain, sir." Annika gives a slightly exaggerated salute before wandering off to get some rest until they arrive on the island. She wants to be fresh and ready when they make landfall. It would suck to find the island inhabited by something nasty and not be in top shape.
Janus shrugs and returns to his hammock.
"My quill is always ready!"
Standing quietly and watching the Captain with a frown before turning and walking towards his bunk. Going somewhere I don't want with some idiot I don't trust now. Iomedea what did I do wrong?
After a strange encounter with the captain, he remains out of sight for the next day and a half. Regardless, the ship continues on course even without his presence. The night passes relatively uneventfully, but something keeps you from getting a good night's sleep; you can't shake the feeling that something's watching you, and every time you close your eyes you swear you hear the faint sound of someone talking. When you try to focus on the sound, though, it fades back into the background. While you wake the next morning no worse for wear, your restless sleep is still plagued by a strange trio of eyes that seem to watch you in your dreams.
By the next evening, the mysterious island has appeared on the horizon. As some of the colonists come up from below deck, eager to see some sign of land, a call comes out from the crow's nest. A few seconds later, the call it repeated amongst the crew. "Two more red-sailed ships, about a league behind us." One of the crew members turns to you, a scowl on his face. "I don't think that's a coincidence. Where the hell is Captain Gallifrey?"
"Two more? Or is one of them the same ship?" Marcus asked.
Annika tosses and turns through the night, curling in on herself as the nearly supernatural feeling of something wrong refuses to leave her. Whatever it is, it seems like their journey is going to be getting harder very quickly.
"Oh boy..." Annika sighs. "Looks like the consortium isn't taking rejection well. Somehow I'm not surprised." She hops down and rushes to the captain's cabin door and raps her knuckles against the door. She's not sure if he's there, but it's better than standing around wondering what's going on.
Gallidren wakes bleary eyed from tossing and turning all night. When he hears that land has been sighted, he joins Annika at the Captain's door. If he doesn't answer, Gallidren will open the door. "Captain, we have trouble!"
|
Garrick's usually relaxed visage tenses at the sight of the red sailed ships.
"They seem focused on delivering their threats... Braindead bullies..." the tiefling comments before turning his gaze towards the crow's nest.
"That'd be a perfect spot to gun thwm down from, but something tells me will need to 'counter board' them if we want to get out of this alive." his right hand moves towards his oversized pistol with eagerness but the tiefling grasps a pair of strange flasks filled with a viscuous cream floating over dust filled liquid "Stay clear of tight groups, fellas, things might get hot in there."
Janus glances at Garrick, then follows the gesture to the flasks and smiles broadly. He says nothing but a rattling rhythm on his drum sounds somewhat like an explosion.