While most of you manage to get your work done, the more than 24 hours at work take their toll on Gezza and Nim, both of whom fall unconscious, exhausted, during the course of the day. They're not awake to hear it, but the rest of you hear Plugg promise them lashes the next day for shirking their duties.
Eventually, though, the interminable time since the storm began ends and you find yourself assembled for for rum rations. Most of your fellow crew members head off to their bunks, though a few stay up to wildly celebrate their survival.
In the morning, refreshed, you awake to clear skies and smooth sailing again. Many of your fellow crew look as if they're still tired and sore from the previous days' work, but all gather to hear the newest assignments.
Budos, you're given upper rigging work, 50 feet up:
Gezza, Plugg grins evilly as he arrives at you. "Maybe the smell of the bilges'll help you keep on your feet, sailor," he says, the last word coming out with a sneer.
Nimrod and Sicarius, you're hauling rope and doing knot work as the crew finishes putting the Wormwood back in shipshape.
Cargas, Fishguts sends you out to catch enough fish for dinner that night, handing you a handful of nets.
Budos:
Gezza:
Nimrod:
Sicarius:
Cargas:
Gezza smiles pleasantly at Mister Plugg. "A trip to the bilges, you say? What a delight! Thank you, Mister Plugg, for offering me such an honor and a privilege!"
Even working as hard as he can, Gezza's not keeping up. When the great hairy spider brushes his arm, he freezes, then consciously makes himself relax. Looking at the multi-faceted eyes, he murmurs softly to it, "'Ello there, beautiful. It's a helluva day to find ourselves down here, isn't it? I've never been much of a fan of the deeps of the ship, but at least it's not crowded with sweating bodies and that villain, Plugg, is it?"
After a night of rest, Budos climbs into the rigging with ease, grateful that the storm isn't gusting today.
During his work, Bud will pick out one of the less angry shipmates and attempt to make small talk with them. "Not a bad storm, nobody lost and nothing a good night's rest couldn't fix. How you feeling today?"
A couple of snickers as Nim bounds about to get his work done, and the halfer-orc starts to get the picture that Plugg has more lashes in store for him sooner or later. For what cannot be avoided, he keeps his head down, and grinds out the ropework as best he can.
He catches Badger's eye every so often, engaging her to shore up his trust in her. Trust her than most aboard and ashore right now, but that could be the sore muscles talking. "Hey, if you catch Plugg griping about something with my name attached, give a whistle, so I know which direction to avoid, would ya?" Nim offers a toothy grin, the only grin at his disposal.
Sicarius works well again, the evening's rest leaving him fully rejuvenated when the morning finally comes along. He chats with Nim during the course of their labors but makes it a point to check on Rosie as he moves from aft to stern.
"You alright today?" Like before, there's no judgement in his voice, but that does little to soften his gruffness.
Cargas sleeps, his body as tired as he's felt since he came on board. For the first time, he wishes for some shore leave so he might drink and eat a bit differently. He feels like he's earned some shore leave, for whatever that is worth.
The next day, Cargas works diligently at the fishing.
Survival
He likes this work, and seems content with it. As long as no one is messing with him, he ain't messing with nobody.
Gezza spends the remainder of his time in the bilges working and speaking softly to the spider, telling him tales of his younger days and of the things he's seen in Rahadoum and on the seas. At the end of his shift, he murmurs to the spider to remain hidden and he'll chat with him later.
After your travails the past two days, your work seems almost easy, all of you accomplishing it with ease.
As you work, several of you talk with your crewmates.
Budos finds himself near Tilly Brackett as he descends at one point, a tough human swab. She gives a grin at his question. "I'm OK. Reminds me of a joke, though: You know what the tired pirate said? ... Man, I'm tried." She cracks up, letting out a braying laugh that you're pretty sure could be heard back on shore -- wherever that is. The blonde -- hair cut short enough that it could be a man's style -- keeps it up as the day progresses whenever your paths cross, her jokes -- typically not much better -- getting lewder and lewder as the day goes on.
Nim continues chatting with Badger, who gives him a nod. "Will do." A moment later, she whistles. As Nim looks around, she smiles at him. "I'm sure he said something bad. Don't know where or to who but you said to whistle."
Rosie nods at Brood's question. "Yeah, I'm alright, eh? Thanks for the rescue. Not sure if I coulda made it back in that swell."
As the night ends, the usual rum rations are doled out along with dinner and the usual bloody hour. The pirates, refreshed after the night's sleep, gather again, spreading stories about storms they've survived -- the highlight seems to be Ratline's trip through the Eye of Abendego, a tale that draws much scoffing from the assembled crew despite his protestations of honesty.
Cargas stretches his legs after a day in the kitchens, his back and legs sore from standing most of the day. He's feeling good for the first time since the storms and plans on getting into a fight explore the nighttime entertainment.
Cargas goes to see if he can fight again. Failing that, he'll go watch others fight or watch whatever entertainment might be in the offing.
Nim flinches when he hears his name called out by Plugg. When his memory is jogged about falling asleep during the roughest patches of the storm duties, he thinks about objecting. He hears Badger whistle, and he knows he's stuck. His hands relax, bloody furrows where his nails once sunk in.
A light growl emanates from his throat. He remembers himself, and he shakes his head, choosing not to listen to voice in the back of his mind telling him to rip the whip from Plugg's hand and use it against him. Instead, he drinks from Gozreh's Well, readying himself for the pain.
As the second lash bites deeply, the halfer-orc bellows to no human in particular.
His plea restores him somewhat, as the third lash lands. He waits for the next lash, angry with himself for wishing no more come.
Nimrod uses his second healing selfishly. It's enough to keep him on his feet for the rest of the night.
For the evening, he spends a little more time with Shivikah, hoping to solidify his 'friends' more so. "Has anyone ever avoided the lash on this ship, aside from Plugg's thugs?"
Nim drops from the fourth lash, unable to heal or stabilize himself. Drug below(hopefully), he'll recuperate overnight.
Budos will continue working at making friends among the crew. When the rum is distributed he takes the chance to have a quick drink with Tilly. "The grog is no good, but it's still betting than a lashing."
The second lash proves to be all Gezza can bear, as he goes unconscious. He tries to be brave, but the pain has him calling out before he passes out...
Sicarius helps haul the half-orc and the human below decks once they each succumb to Plugg's eager lash. He comes back up after and overhears Budos chatting with Badger. As he passes the pair, he interjects, "That's bad thinking there, Bud. Poison's poison. Regardless of whether it stings less than a scourge or not."
Cargas, no one seems to be interested in fighting tonight, as they're still recovering from the storm, but there's some interest in wrestling perhaps in the future.
As Sicarius and Budos help the unconscious Nim and Gezza down to the hammocks, they're again joined by Sandara. She gives the elf a smile and a wink. "Seems like your friend has his own accordance with the gods, but a little help from Besmara, perhaps?"
Moments later, a wave of healing energy washes out from her, bathing you in its gentle embrace. [ooc]+12 hp]/ooc] Even she seems impressed as the men's lash marks disappear without a trace.
"Might be your influence," she whispers to Sicarius, resting a hand on the elf's arm. "That mark isn't just happenstance -- Besmara has plans for you, I think. And those with you."
Back on deck, Tilly shakes her head. "No good? I'll take double ration if I could. A little liquid lubrication to get you through the long night and reward you for a hard day's work." She raises hers in a toast and then drinks it down in a single motion, her cheeks suffusing with pink and eyes crossing slightly for a moment as she gives a grin that shows almost as many teeth as Budos'.
Nim holds still, as the healing energy finds his flayed skin, and knits it. He keeps his eyes closed for a moment, trying to parse out whether he is somehow to thank for his own healing, until he hears Brood and Sandara engaged in speech. He pulls himself up, eyeing the room first, before thanking the healer. "Were that our energies weren't needed, eh? The lashes don't do the crew any favors, from what I've seen. Thanks, mam." He nods to Sandara, before retreating up the stairs.
He watches Plugg as a beaten dog eyes its master for most of the evening.
He does take advantage of his conscious state to talk with Shivikah.
Shivikah shrugs at Nim's question.
"Doesn't seem so -- even his friends sometimes, but that's how you keep discipline on a pirate ship -- but you seem to heal fast. Didn't think you'd be back on your feet so quickly."
"Doesn't seem so -- even his friends sometimes, but that's how you keep discipline on a pirate ship -- but you seem to heal fast. Didn't think you'd be back on your feet so quickly."
"Truth be told, neither did I. Plugg didn't pull any punches, well, lashes, and I thought I'd be able to shrug off a couple of 'em. See, I've got some small favor from Gozreh, gives me a chance to heal a couple times in the same day, so if you ever injure yourself hard enough, I should be able to bring it. Turns out, there are others on board who can do the same, and I'm grateful for it. That way, I can take my punishment, and still be proper for work the next day." Nim's eyes never leave Plugg for long while he talks with the Mwangi woman.
Brood glances down at Sandara's hand then up to hold her gaze, though he makes no motion to unseat her hand. "Oh? Wish I knew what those might be." His gaze shifts to follow Nim as he slips back up to the deck. He looks back to Sandara then, "Thanks for your help. Again." The elf shifts then, breaking contact with the woman as he nods to the stairs Nim had retreated up a few moments prior. "Come on, I'm not ready to turn in yet and the air's not as fresh down here."
As they head back up above deck, Sicarius nods to Maheem as the larger man passes the pair. Turning back to Sandara, Brood asks, "You know what his story is? I bumped into him before the storm and I didn't get a good read on him."
Failing to rouse any wrestlin', Cargas returns to the hold to see how the whippees are doing.
"Ah yeah, that stings like a b#%&$, don't it? That Plugg sure is a flaming piece of virginal blood fart, ain't he?" Cargas asks, looking at the fading and healed welts on the back of Gezza then Nimrod. "What I wouldn't give for a few rounds alone with him."
"What I wouldn't give for a few rounds alone with him."
Before bounding up the stairs, Nim tucks his shirt back down, nodding wordlessly to Brood. Turning back to the dwarf, the halfer-orc regards Cargas for a moment. "The way it stands now, it gets argued that you're insubordinate, and your keel-hauled for your troubles. Best make it look like an accident."
"He's a literal bastard," Sandara says, "but he'd disagree if he heard me say that, and let you know his parents were married when he was born. He thinks Plugg did him a favor with the way he's treated, and so he's loyal to him."
Come morning, you again find yourselves assigned tasks:
Budos: Line work .
Gezza: Rat catching again .
Nim: Hauling rope and knot work .
Sicarius: General repairs about the ship .
Cargas: Capt. Harrigan is again demanding pork, meaning you have to again butcher one of the ship's pigs. Unfortunately, unlike before, Fishguts appears to have found himself a new bottle of liquor and is too drunk to cook it, meaning you're going to have to do it yourself. .
Budos:
Gezza:
Nimrod:
Sicarius:
Cargas:
Cargas grumbles when he has to work alone in the kitchens, let alone take on so much work alone. The knives never seem sharp enough, nor is there ever enough salt for the process. Every meal needs lots of salt.
Survival - slaughter
The slaughter of the pig goes easy enough. One might think that spitting it would be an easy option for rotating over a fire. Except that this was a sea going vessel...and large open fires weren't the best approach.
Intelligence (diligently)
When that fails, Cargas' efforts to boil the head and tongue fail badly, as does his decision to parboil the knees with potatoes. In the end, Cargas tried hard, but fails to generate much edible meat.
"Oops."
Still miffed about the lashes, Nim channels his frustration into solid work, taking some satisfaction in depriving Plugg of another chance to dole out punishments. Each thwap of the heavy rope is accompanied by a grunt. It's not the leather grip he's used to, but it's enough to take his mind off recent events.
He watches folk coming and going, and tries to get a sense of who's being neglected. Ratline's good, as are the fighters, Badger and Shivikah. The halfling lass is friendly enough, as is Grok. Who else? Looks like Budos is talking up folk, as is Gezza. Brood seems to try, at least, and you gotta take or leave Cargas. They're all still alive, so there's that.
Gezza awakens a lot less painfully than he expected. Still, he keeps his head down and nods obediently when sent off to catch rats.
Still, he makes a darn fine rat-catcher, and even makes a moment to find his new little friend, Mister Legs, and slip him a caught roach or rat.
Budos takes to the line work again, glad for the chances it offers him to interact with the crew.
Before noon, he finds a minute to talk with Badger as he rests from his task "Hey, that jest about yer hair wasn't meant as disrespect, I've been teased about my teeth all my life and I was just breaking the ice. Did you know, I was born with my teeth this size, no kidding, took forever for my face to fill in around them. Until I was seven I looked a goblin."
The line work strains his muscles and demands a core strength the half orc has yet to develop.
Weary and tired, Budos looks forward to a quality meal that evening.
Sicarius works well enough throughout the day, but his occasional trips through the middle deck and near to Owlbear nearly prevent him from completing all his tasks. Still, the elf had been serious before about offering to look for the tarred and feather man and he meant to keep good to his word. Each time he passes through he stops briefly to chat with chained and abused man, swapping his blanket for a clean one at one point, slipping him a pair of apples at another. "You doing alright there big guy?"
By the end of it all, Sicarius is well and truly spent and his grumpy scowl perpetually darkens his face more and more as the day wears on.
Owlbear continues to be completely unreceptive to Sicarius, the elf's entreaties falling on deaf ears.
Budos' apology to Badger seems to clear the air and the woman grudgingly accepts, chatting with him as he works and seeming more relaxed around him by the end of the shift around him. Despite the pleasant conversation, he's exhausted by the end of the shift and looking forward to a good meal.
Unfortunately, he's disappointed as Cargas presents several types of hot ham water, all of which are inedible. Scourge appears enraged at the wasted food and the dwarf is quickly hauled to the lashing post for his punishment. The punishments for Nim and Gezza from the failures of earlier days continue, and all three are quickly lashed into unconsciousness.
That evening, the pirates gather, telling stories of other times they suffered food deprivation before eventually turning to sea chanteys to pass the time until they head for their beds.
Lashes owed: Cargas, 3; Gezza, 1
Once more Gezza takes the lash and once more he wails like a stuck pig and goes unconscious before the last can be delivered.
Cargas grunts as the third and final lash lands, keeping his feet and his mouth active.
"That all you got, Scourge? Thought you might have something other than sheep blood running through ya', but apparently not. You hit like you're afraid...afraid that I might hit you back one day," Cargas grumbles in pain. "Ayep, I'll see you tomorrow then. Maybe you'll hit harder then."
Cargas takes Gezza and Nim in one hand each and begins to slowly drag them down to their beds. As he drags, he feels the pain in his back and arms, the ugly welts still oozing blood and suffering. Still he drags his not-friends nor enemies down to the comfort of their bunks.
"This is gunna hurt me more than it's gunna hurt you..."
Budos helps Cargas carry the unfortunates to their bunks, then collapses in his own bunk early as weariness overtakes him.
As the songs wear on, Sicarius spots Maheem out of the corner of his eye and slowly works his way over to the big man. "Maheem, right? I don't care for gossip, but given our present circumstance, I'd thought you'd like to know. Maybe you can be ready if anyone wants to try something. Anyway, I was runnin' messages the other day and overheard Plugg and some of his closer lapdogs laughing. Caught Plugg say your name and that he was 'hoping for a chance to do you like he did your whore of a mother'." Sicarius holds up his hands defensively. "Hey, his words, not mine. I'm not sure at all what he might have meant by any of it, but if it were me, I'd want to know. Good to be prepared for anything, you know?" The elf then turns away, ready and willing to leave Maheem with his thoughts.
Nim utters a brief grunt of surprise when he learns that his punishment wasn't over from the day before. He takes it as sign not to heal himself during the lashing, and wakes the next day, disgruntled to begin.
Gozreh, I understand Life is working its way from one side to the other, then back again. I'm just waiting for the scale to start tipping back the other way, right? You count those lashes, as will I.
Most of you retreat to your bunks as the lashes take their painful toll, though Sicarius spends more time on the deck.
He sees Maheem seem to pause, eyes widen, at his comments, but turns away before the big Rahadoumi can reply.
---
Come morning you're assigned your tasks as usual, though in a nice break from the norm, a large land mass looms on the port side of the ship. Sails are reefed as the Wormwood moves cautiously through the shallow waters.
You believe this is the Slithering Coast, on the southern side of the mainland portion of the Shackles.
Come afternoon, you're interrupted as the day's runner summons you to the deck, where you find Mr. Plugg, along with five crab pots at his feet.
"The captain wants fresh crab for supper, so you lot better go fetch him some."
He points to a reef lying some 200 feet north of the ship.
"Swim over there, fill the pots and bring them back," he says as the ship lurches to a halt, Scourge, Jape and Badger tossing the anchor overboard.
The waters are calm and clear , letting you make your way across with ease.
You soon approach a superb coral reef, about 100 yards square, lying between 5 and 30 feet below the surface, and you can see crabs scuttling around.
Cargas grumps as he is roused to task. He eventually accepts with a minimum of cursing and anger. He likes fishing, at least, and could make a living at it if he needed to.
Cargas takes it easy on the swin (take 10 = 17), and unless others need help in which case he will drop back to make sure no one drowns.
Round 1
Survival - find crab vs. 10
Swim - get crab vs. 10
"Would probably be easier to get crabs from Scourge's old lady. Hawhaw!"
In the morning, Sicarius spots Maheem again and the elf approaches. "Sorry you had to find out like that last night. Didn't mean to stir anything up, but figured I'd have wanted to know. Would you rather I had kept it to myself?"
---
As Sicarius and the others are handed pots for fetching crabs, Brood scowls at the distant reef before slipping into the water and heading over . When he arrives, he begins to scan the surrounding waters for targets, slipping under the waters twice in the first half minute and returning with a crab only once. When he hears Cargas' comment about the crabs, Brood just shakes his head and returns to the task at hand.
"Crab pots, eh Mister Plugg? Would the Captain prefer his crabs alive or dead?" Gezza asks, innocently as he shoulders a pot and climbs overboard.
Gezza hauls the pot up and smiles. "This beats the tar out of rat-catching, gents! A man could get used to a nice bath like this every once in a while."
Rounds 2-4
Round 2:
Survival - find crab vs. 10
Swim - get crab vs. 10
Round 3:
Survival - find crab vs. 10
Swim - get crab vs. 10
Round 4:
Survival - find crab vs. 10
Swim - get crab vs. 10 [/dice]
Budos' teeth grind as he dreams of tasty crab for dinner. The disappointment of last evening's fare sends his stomach growling at the prospect as his mind tunes out the part about it being for the captain. "Crab is delicious, you can't wreck that my dwarven friend."
On his fifth dive Budos is able to fill his crab pot to the braces. "Right, this is easy work, let me fill another of yours before they scuttle away." Bud swaps pots with a less fortunate team member and dives again.
Nim secures his belt, kneels to secure his moccasins, reassuring himself of his dagger. He grabs the pot, and smiles at Badger as he takes to rail, wobbling a bit to and fro, before falling into the water in an exaggerated manner. He swims competently , arriving at the reef only snorting a couple of nosefuls of salt water.
Peering into the waters, he debates his crab-nabbing techniques. If the crab grabs me, at least it'll be grabbed in turn. The pinch is the worst of it, just remember that. The crab's last act of defiance, before it sacrifices itself to our collective strength.
Given the time, Nim finds his stride, missing twice for his lack of swimming experience, missing once for kicking up too much sand.
As you begin searching, Budos notices two creatures resembling a lobster in the front and an eel in the back, with blood-red spines running its length, swimming toward Gezza.
Their claws grab him, latching on painfully as his blood begins to tint the water.
They're reefclaws, vicious predators that possess greater intelligence than animals, but rely mainly on their strength and instincts to survive.
Streaming through the water with a lithe grace that belies his muscular form, Budos closes with the lobstrosities and turns the threat of nature of them. His massive teeth clacking and chomping, the half orc lunges at the closest beast.
HP 5/7
and Gezza splutters as the damnable things attach themselves to him!
STR 13/14
Budos tears into the reefclaw, its flesh surprisingly sweet as he nearly rips it apart.
It turns on him claws ripping into him as it grabs hold, inflicting nearly as much damage on him as his teeth did on it.
The other one, perhaps distracted by the crunching noises next to it or Gezza's startled jerk, loses its grip on the shipwright, claws clattering noisily.
HP 5/7
STR 13/14
Released from the grip of the damnable lobsters, Gezza staggers back five feet and murmurs a familiar spell!
Sicarius reaches for the blade that until his pressganging had hung so comfortably on his hip and curses softly as he's reminded of its absence. Unsure what else to do, he intones a simple spell and sends a bolt of acid darting for one of the reefclaws.
HP: 9/9
AC: 13 (13 T / 10 FF)
CMD: 15
F/R/W: +2/+3/+2 (+2 vs enchantment, immune sleep)
Arcane Pool used: 0/4
Besmara's Blessing (1/week): [X]
Spells Prepared:
Cantrips (2) - acid splash, flare
Level 1 (0+1) - monkeyfish [ ]
Ongoing Effects
Bud's muscles quiver as pain shoots through his body.
The water around him turning red with his own blood and his hope quickly fading, Budos chomps again at the lobstrosity clinging to him.
Round 1, Init 7
AC = 13
HP = 9/9
Weapon Equipped = None
Condition(s) = None
Spells/Day = 1st (2/day)—aspect of the falcon, cure light wounds, summon nature's ally I
0 (at will)—create water, guidance, mending, stabilize
Nim watches the waters turn red, from the blood of Budos. He considers reaching for the dagger in his boot, but recognizes slowly that the real weapon in the water is his fellow half-orc. He reaches for him, and repairs the green biter, careful to keep the reefclaw on the other side.
Round 1, Init 14
Cargas swims into flank with whichever badfish he can reach.
Swim
He draws his knuckles from his buttcheeks secret spot and dons them, ready to rumble next round.