Obi grins widely, that sort that you know he's about to say or do something insane. "I know just the trick, really. They want to get on a ship and go to sea. I am a sailor. And you two....well, I'm not quite sure. But yes, if we can find them a boat to work on, then that would secure them owing us somewhat. Or at least being more agreeable as long as they get some time on the boat. Savvy?"
Mallory is happy to have found at least one other person to join up with Riggs. While waiting on the deck of the ship, she cocks her head at Hoeroa, wondering why he's so anxious to get out to sea. "What's your story, stranger?"
"Do you think they'd mind if the boat in question was heading looking into ruined chapter houses? I'm not certain though that we'd want to jump town straight away. Noellis was killed here and that looks to be our strongest place to investigate." Silas pauses. "Though thinking about it the shark attacks may also be involved so we should look into them as well."
Briefly lost in a drug-induced haze, Sandman blinks and shakes his head, realizing he'd been out of touch and lost in the dream world for a time. He smiles and laughs, tapping out his pipe and tucking it away.
"Too much. Too much." he says to himself, clearing his throat.
He shrugs at his brother sheepishly and focuses on those around him, trying to figure out the details of what he's missed.
Perception to notice Sandman's haze.
Perception:
Morgan is too busy trying to figure out Captain Riggs to notice Sandman's drug induced state.
[Mallory - Morgan will answer you after the results of his Perception check on the Captain]
Not sure how much you will gain on a perception check except that he appears to be a well respected ship's captain. Your sense motive was far too low to doubt his veracity.
Having reached a decision, Beth takes her leave of Zalen Trafalgar. "Thank you for all your help", she says, collecting the two potions, the scroll and the notes.
"We will keep in touch as soon as possible. And I will keep you informed of our direction in that enquiry. In the mean time, if you need help or find any news about the secret society, please pass the word to us."
"Shall we try to reach them right now?", finishes Beth as they exit the temple.
As you walk out of the temple you notice as guards chatter away, a cloaked halfling menaces an elderly gnome at knifepoint not five feet from them. One of the Dragoons watches the robbery with a bemused half-smile on his face.
Seeing the crew's conduct on the ship and their relations with the Captain Morgan is convinced of the Captain's general character. After asking for a few nautical specifics and generally indicating to the Captain that he is as much a sailor as a tribal shaman, Morgan accepts the commission.
Heading back toward the Run Aground, Morgan chats to Mallory.
"Well Mistress, you seem to ken I'm not one thing or the other. Truth be told, I was born back in the old country sure enough, and raised by my grandparents after my mother died in childbirth and my father was press-ganged into the navy and never returned. My father had been a sailor, so I became one too, of course in my adventurous mind I believed I might find m father one day.
In time I became a harpooner on a whaleship, and earned good coin at it to.
All that changed when the whaler was wrecked on a reef, and I was taken in by Sandman's tribe. Seems I was marked by great Tohoraha the Whale to be a shaman. So now I'm a walker between the worlds, a Pakeha. That was a long time ago - I have spent more moons with my adoptive tribe than with my blood-kin. My memories fade of that long ago land, and even back then I spent many moons aboard ship.
"So. That's Hoeroa's tale. How do you come to be here in this misbegotten fleapit of a settlement?"
As you walk out of the temple you notice as guards chatter away, a cloaked halfling menaces an elderly gnome at knifepoint not five feet from them. One of the Dragoons watches the robbery with a bemused half-smile on his face.
Upon seeing the daylight robbery, Beth alters her course and strides purposefully towards the halfling, a hand resting on her scimitar and the second up in the air.
"Hey, you, the cloaked one....", she calls
That would be Captain Riggs or is Morgan already foreshadowing that he wishes to be captain of his own ship one day soon?
As you walk out of the temple you notice as guards chatter away, a cloaked halfling menaces an elderly gnome at knifepoint not five feet from them. One of the Dragoons watches the robbery with a bemused half-smile on his face.Upon seeing the daylight robbery, Beth alters her course and strides purposefully towards the halfling, a hand resting on her scimitar and the second up in the air.
"Hey, you, the cloaked one....", she calls
The Halfling takes notice of the Priestess in the blue robes of Quell and flees! This causes the Dragoons to give a half-hearted chase. The gnome is shaken up, but ok. More surprised that anyone these days would come to her aid these days. She is very grateful.
150 XPRoleplaying XP for the last week for everyone 200.
Knowledge (Local):
Silas follows Beth out of the Chapter House, nodding to Zalen as they leave. The altercation with the halfling dealt with, the gnome politely calmed, he turns to answer Beth's question.
"They seemed interested in finding a ship. Or I could just ask. It's not like the large one blends in all that well and Morgan certainly seems the talker. We might ask Finn where Mallory went as well."
Mallory looks sideways at Hoeroa, wondering if she may have become one of the Tulita if her own shipwreck had happened in a different place, or at a different time. She shook her head, deciding that it would never have worked on account of how stubborn she was.
When Hoeroa was finished with his story, she replied of her own. "More'n a mite similar to yours," she began. "Cept I'm like to kill my daddy, and ain't no sea god ever pointed me in a direction, just the wind."
"Been a while since you were at sea, then?"
Silas follows Beth out of the Chapter House, nodding to Zalen as they leave. The altercation with the halfling dealt with, the gnome politely calmed, he turns to answer Beth's question.
"They seemed interested in finding a ship. Or I could just ask. It's not like the large one blends in all that well and Morgan certainly seems the talker. We might ask Finn where Mallory went as well."
"It's true they stand out. If they're looking for a ship, it won't be that difficult to find." replies Beth.
" Let's go back to the docks and ask. Besides, get back to my own ship
I need to change. Those robes are good to show off but they're worth s%$% on a ship.", she adds scowling at her own clothes.
Silas smiles. "I understand, though not the robes. This outfit of mine tends to work for everything and with a little magic, I do mean everything."
He looks to Obadiah. "You haven't said much. Are you with us?"
Obi looks up as though coming out of a daze. "Oh! You all are still here. I thought I was having one of those scurvy induced, heat wave dreams again! Of course I am! I love the ocean. I mean, can't you tell?"
He poses heroically and motions to his overly nice looking clothes, the only thing looking sea-worthy is his exceptionally weathered leather tricorne.
Beth, Silas and Obadiah head back to the docks just in time to notice an old Tulita man standing on an empty crate by the dockside preaching to passersby in a rasping voice: “You foreigners anger the sea. You murder the watchers with your harpoons, and skin them for your oil. Soon none left. Without the watchers, Dajobas rise again. His servants come from the deep to kill you. Dajobas kill for your crimes against the old ways. He tear you up with his razor teeth. He drink your blood beneath the waves, grind your bones beneath the moon.”
His outbursts attract the attention of the Dragoons. A towering man with dark hair and midnight-black eyes leads this particular patrol.
“You there, off that crate or I’ll take me hammer to ya.”
The large Dragoon gestures with a finely wrought adamantine hammer at the old Tulita.
The old man’s eyes take a second to focus on the big Dragoon and then grow wide as saucers.
In a flash, the Tulita leaps off the crate, drawing a scrimshaw knife from his belt.
“You! You bear the Kiss of Dajobas. I will save you!”
The ancient Tulita snarls ferociously as he lunges for the tall, sturdily built Dragoon. The big bluecoat growls and bats at the old man with his fist, reaching for his hammer with the other. But the Dragoon’s quarry dances away, his feathered headdress bobbing and his furred cloak whipping the air. The rest of the Dragoons go for their weapons, and an elderly native is about to die.
Possibly all six of you witness this. What, if anything do you do?
Morgan will attempt to intercede, positioning himself between the head Dragoon and the elderly Tulita, hands outstretched calling for reason, peace and calm.
Iniiative
Obi swiftly tries to place himself between the Dragoons and the Tulita, facing the old man.
"Sorry about this Elder, but there'll no bloodshed here today!"
And with that, a fancy rapier is drawn from his sheath, and with a quick flourish, the tattooed man tries to knock the knife from the old Tulitan's hand.
Roll Diplomacy you two please prior to us going to init.
Obadiah is successful in getting the Dragoons to not kill the Tulita, but they do still intend to arrest him.
Milliaka, however is still attempting to cut the big Dragoon with his knife. Awaiting Morgan's check.
Ok, you are right, so a check is still needed for the Dragoons then. Milliaka does mutter "... you no understand kiss, kiss bring
the darkness, bring the hunger.”
"Then you do it another way. You're lucky you didn't get gutted by them. Then what good would your warning do?"
Diplomacy
Silas shakes his head, but steps forward smiling at the Dragoons. "Gentlemen, I think there's been some misunderstanding here.
Can't have one of their chief muckey-mups inciting a riot here neither. Off to Port Stormshield with him"
You catch a glimpse of the Dragoon's bandages (obscured by the sleeve of his uniform).
"A moment, sirs. There is much happening here that remains yet unseen. To seek answers would be wise."
"This man is a high shaman of my people. A healer. He means you no harm. He believes himself to be helping, and said as much. He believes you to be somehow afflicted."
"Perhaps you know why he might think that?"
Sgt Darenar speaks to Silas, "I will release this old fool to your custody, but I will make YOU responsible for his and the rest of these Tulita's actions in the future!"
Milliauka can offer the PCs a safe house among the Tulita shacks in the Outskirts.
"The shark bite? A run in with a small hammerhead. Smited him with my hammer! The old man is rattlebrained."
"What color was it, friend?"
Morgan spits out a comment with much invective
before moving to stand in front of the old Tulita protectively.
Sandman holds up a hand to calm his brother and speaks very carefully and clearly to the big guard.
"Sir, I need you to listen to me very carefully. The Kiss of Dajobas is a terrible curse. This man believes that the shark you smote was no mere shark, but another who bore the curse and has now passed it to you."
"If he is wrong, there is no danger to you to allow yourself to be treated. It will cost you nothing but a small amount of time."
"If he is correct and you allow yourself to be treated, there will be some discomfort, but you will recover within a few days of treatment."
"If he is right and you choose to ignore this, you will become as the creature who attacked you. A shark who dreams of the man he once was. That is the Kiss of Dajobas."
"Do not take this lightly, sir. Chose very carefully. Your life may depend on it."
Morgan seems to bristle at his brother's attempt to calm him and continues to glare at the Dragoon leader.
Aid Another: Intimidate
Silas nods to the Sergeant. "I understand." He steps forward and nods as well to the Elder.
Tulita - appropriate dialect if I can
He turns and smiles at the Sergeant. "I would say that that wound of yours looks like it definitely could do with attention. Shark bites are not be trifled with.
Intimidated, Darenar stomps off, "You're a dead man Tulita. I will not forget this day". The rest of the Dragoons follow and they head off to Port Stormshield.
XP 1333 each
Silas watches the Dragoons leave. "That man needs watching, particularly if that bite is bad. What does it mean that it is a Dajobas' Kiss?"
"Well, that went better than I thought.", mutters Beth, knotting her blue scarf back on.
Coming out of her canoe from where she had observed the interaction, Beth joins the group around the elder Tulita.
"I don't understand everything what happened but it seems you haven't made new friends."
Turning to both Sandman and the Tulita shaman she adds in broken Tulita. "Am I right thinking this man was cursed by the bite? And can you really prevent him to turn into a shark?"
Sandman sighs and shrugs as the guard stomps off.
"There is no helping those who do not wish to be helped. That man will be a monster by the next full moon. It could be stopped, but I will not force him."
Mallory thinks to herself Wasn't that Captain Montgomery's hammer?