Last evening you went into a famous tavern in Port Peril, where you were for whatever reasons. The atmosphere was good and got better by the minute, you had a big time, but then suddenly all went dark.
You wake up the following morning in a dark hold.
You all remember the night before—the ringing laughter of a wild night, the heady joy of excess, the scents of rich stewed meat and perfume lingering in your nostrils.
Now there is only a pounding headache, the sickly taste of cheap wine in your mouths, the hard floor, a rhythmiccreaking noise, and the feeling of the room swaying, as if you were still drunk. Before you can do much more than sit up, however, several pairs of heavy footsteps enter the dark room, and the harsh light of a lantern painfullyspears your eyes.
A tanned man in a long weathered coat with a long beard and a whip in his hand has entered the hold to wake you and get you up to the main deck. Six rough-looking pirates, armed with saps, accompany him. An expression that might be mistaken for pain but which is clearly an attempt at a smile bruises his face as he cracks the whip in his hand and screams at you:
“Still abed with the sun over the yardarm?
On your feet, ye filthy swabs! Get up on deck and report for duty before Cap’n Harrigan flays your flesh into sausage skins and has Fishguts fry ye up for breakfast!”
You quickly discover that most, if not all, of your weapons and equipment are gone.
Randall wakes up, smacking his lips, a sour taste in his mouth and a loud pounding, as if the village blacksmith was working on an anvil, in his head. As his eyes adjust to the gloom he notices five other shapes in the darkness along with himself.
His eyes are painfully stabbed by the sudden light of the lantern and as the whip carrying man's words penetrate the fog of last night's overindulgence, a sad realization begins to form "I, we've, been shanghaied."
Knowledge (nature):
Blinking away the blur in front of her eyes, and wincing at the spike of pain that lanced through her head as the pirate's yelling roused her, Holly experienced a few seconds of complete disorientation. Wha...? Oh dear, this isn't good, whatever it is. Rolling over from where she had been slumped up against the bulkhead, she gets groggily to her feet and stumbles towards the door. 'Report for duty'? Oh great... looks like I've been press-ganged. Could've been worse - they might have been slavers. The little halfling darts through the door before the tanned man can use the whip in his hand, deciding to play along for the moment, at least until she can find out exactly what's going on...
Variel groans as he sees the light pierce the darkness. Creaking floor, the slight pitch of the ocean, then all the under deck dark pierced by bright, bright light. Yep...another ship...
It is only when the elf rolls and feels his peg leg struggle to gain purchase, that he reaches for his cane. Only to find it not there. Oh not a shanghai...this is worse than that one night with that Chelaxian whore.
Khalfani woke up to one of his most hated sounds, the sound of a whip. his eyes opened and he looked around, ready to fight for his life. No...it didnt look like a Slave Galley....
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Awww feck, Sweet William says with some feeling. What in t' name o' Sarenrae's flamin' tits 'ave Ah gotten meself into?
He rises and squints around, trying to work out the situation with all the shouting.
Okay... Ah'm at sea, nay bad there... but the way Eld bilge mouth is shoutin' 'bout the Cap'n Ah'd say Ah've been slipped a bit o' Press Gang Juice...
Awww feck, he says again.
Randall runs a quick hand through his hair as he realizes that all his weapons and his sea bag are missing. "Aww, man. I can see the weapons and such, but to take a man's squeezebox? That ain't right. Well, time to play the hand you're dealt, Rand, and see what will happen."
"Aye, aye, Sir." Randall responds before heading up the stairs from the hold to the deck above, his head still swimming from the drink last night.
As she runs up the companionway, past the other rough-looking sailors standing around, Holly's hand goes to check whether or not her holy symbol has been taken... I can replace almost everything else, but without my medallion I won't be able to call on the Starsong to help me out of this little problem.
the tongue.
clear sign of oil of taggit poisoning.
Quickly you realize you wear only some rags and mosdt of your possesions if not all are gone. You have no time now to further check your pockes or belts or what else you wear, since you are hurried onto deck. Holly is there first with some stunning acrobatics, or at least what she thinks to be that.
As you stand there on the deck (Wormwood Upper Deck Map) it’s quickly apparent that you are on a sizable ship in the middle of the ocean, far from any land. Figures cluster around the ship’s mainmast, looking up at the higher deck on the stern, where two figures stand. You stand next to them. One of them is a broad, muscular Garundi man with a shaven head, a long beard bound with gold rings, and an eye patch — clearly the captain. The other is a younger, baldingman with a long black ponytail, wearing a long coat and carrying a well-used cat-o’-nine-tails.
YOu can see the other figures sdtanding next to you, seemingly new "recruits" too, set apart by their relative cleanliness and their apparent unease with their newfound situation. A dozen or so other pirates, clearly existing members of the crew, stand about on the deck or in the ship’s rigging. Before you have much time to ponder your situation the Captain adresses you:
Glad you could join us at last! Welcome to the Wormwood!
My thanks for ‘volunteering’ to join my crew. I’m Barnabas Harrigan. That’s to you, not that you’ll ever need to address me.
I have only one rule — don’t speak to me.
I like talk, but I don’t like your talk. Follow that rule and we’ll all get along fine.
Oh, and one more thing. Even with you new recruits, we’re still short-handed, and I aim to keep what crew I have. There’ll be a keelhaulin’ for anyone caught killin’ anyone. Mr. Plugg! If you’d be so kind as to make pirates out of these landlubbers, it’ll save me having to put them in the sweatbox for a year and a day before I make pies out of ’em.
After giving his speech the Captain walks away, leaving you with the man holding the cat-o’-nine-tails, who is looking down on you with an unpleasant smile.
The strongly build garundi watches the "captain" leave them, he starts to look around. maybe there is a way to escape...at the right time...
The elf wizard clacks his way to the upper deck, his peg leg seeming to not even begin to slow him down as he makes it to the line up of new recruits. Oil of taggit? Really? REALLY?
He looks around, taking stock of the individuals surrounding him. Varisians, Garundi, and a halfling. Not a bad mix of people...
He then turns his eyes to the crew that surround them, trying to get a sense of ethnicity among the crew.
It is only a couple of moments later that he hears the Captain start up his speech. So pirates...Of course, pirates and taggit make sense. At least it wasn't a slave galley.
"So it's a pirate ship the old Wormwood is, is she? I've been on worse, been on better too.
Randall will look around him at the regular crew members watching them, trying to get a feel for what he's gotten himself into.
As the man with the cat walks his way, Randal lets out a resigned sigh "Here comes the Lord and Master to let us know our place onboard ship"
Looking up at the other 'recruits' lined up to either side of her, and then over to the pirates lining the rails and the rigging, Holly frowns to herself and tries to think clearly. Okay, so it's a pirate ship, not slavers - but still very, very not good. Keep quiet, observe, learn - then figure out a way to get off this tub while still breathing.
The balding man with the long black ponytail and his cat-o´-nine tails stands in front of you. Behind him you see two doors next to the stairway to the bridge. All around you is the sound of waves and water, creaking wood and the ship making it´s way through the ocean, along with occasional flaps from the sails and the men that run them right now.
So ya landlubbers. I´m Mr. plugg. And first i got a test for you. Climb to tha crows nest. Fast and right now! Go!
The young elf cracks his knuckles and, knowing that he doesn't have a good balance with the rigging, he proves that slow and steady is the best route. The elf focuses all his efforts on getting up to the nest without falling.
The peg leg still proves to be the elf's undoing, twisting into the netting at 30 feet up, and causing him to lose his grip. When his head hits the netting, the peg leg twists free, sending the spellcaster hurtling back to the deck, a series of curses uttered loudly in a rough mixture of Aquan, Elven, & Polygot moments before his rough escape to unconsciousness.
Randall hops to it, barely beaten off the mark by another of the newest crew members. At first his feet get tangled in the rigging but soon he begins climbing the ropes like a monkey. Using his strength he begins climbing as fast as he's able, hoping to put on a good show.
+0 feet
+15 feet
+30 feet
+45 feet
3/4 of the way to the top, Randall's foot slips off the sea slicked ropes causing him to dangle precariously over the deck below before he manages to right himself and continues the climb to the top.
+45 feet
+60 feet
Once at the top Randall waits for the others to join him, a satisfied look on his face "Well done, Boyo, still got it. At least you didn't smash on the deck. That would have been embarrassing, not to mention painful."
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0 Feet
Accelerated Climbing
Accelerated Climbing
He laughs nervously at the rest of the crew... Sorry this is harder than it looks with a hang over mates.
Climb 1/4 speed. -->10 Ft
Climb 1/4 speed. -->20 Ft
Now is not the time for my vertigo!
Climb 1/4 speed. -->30 Ft
Climb 1/4 speed. --> 40 Ft
Oh that is better lads, how do you all fair up here?
Climb 1/2 speed.
Climb 1/4 speed.
Fall?
I´m afraid our charismatic Sea Singer Randall McNally was a little bit too hasty and slips while in 45 feet height. Roll your falling damage please. So far only one actually made it up there anyway. Two have still to climb.
What´ya waiting for? Get up there! I don´t care if you´re raining down again! You dirty my planks with your blood or brain you get to scrubb it afterwards!
The bulky Garundi jumps at the nearest rope that hangs down from the crows nest and starts climbing.
With Speed and Skill nobody expects if looking at him, he climbs up to the crows nest.
@Randall: True. Therefore Quinn didn´t fall either. Used climb so few times, forgot that^^
So far Khalfani was fastest it seems?
As Peg Leg slumps onto the deck, Mr. Plugg laughs hard. Pointing at a human woman he shouts:
Hoi pretty, come over here and fix that idiot! I know you can so don´t be shy.
The woman walks over, presents a skull symbol and utters a prayer and Peg Leg´s wounds begin to heal. She then retreats standing next to the other four there on deck.
After this episode, Mr Plugg shouts to you.
`right come down here. Some fast among you, but not the most clever nor neat. You with the whiskers there, quite the ape mh? You will be our new rigger. Now stand in a line, i have to ask you something. Everyone of you. Personally.
As you are queued up, Mr. Plugg walks down the queue, asking everyone the same question.
Can you cook? As he leans over, you can tell he had some rum lately, which is barely hiding the smell of old fish in his breath.
Peg Legs groans as he regains consciousness, smiling in thanks at the retreating woman before getting into line with a slight limp to his walk, more from bruised flesh than the perceived limitations of his false leg.
"I don't cook, but I'm a quick study on ship duties, so I have no doubt I could learn."
Did i ask you about studies? This is a yes or no questions, so answer with yes or no.
"I've not cooked before, no." His answer is short this time, knowing that this is not a typical ship. Funny how similar this is to the time I stole the spellbook from the wizard...
"I've sang for my supper, but never had to cook for it. So, no sir, no."
Khalfani looks bored after he jumped down from the crows nest, using ropes to come back down quickly.
" no"
After he went aksing all of you, he seems rather incontent.
So you landlubbers wanna tell me no one of you can cook? Seems you all still hung to ya mama´s lap eh? Well, we need a volunteer then.
In the break of a second all of the others on deck take a step back.
Khalfani looks around steppin back himself.
Aye looks like we found volunteer! You with the short hair, what´s your name? Randall eh? Come here, you´ll help the cook. And better do a good job, the crew needs something good to eat, not fishstew all day long. He waves you to stand at his side, then musters the rest again.
Do not worry me ladies. I have a prize for all of you.
He points at William You will be my new rigger and work directly under me. The rest of you will be working as scrubbers and taking order from Master Scourge. Did you understand that?
"Aye, Sir." The elf speaks simply and directly, knowing that now is not the time for flowery words. It's time to get down to work, get stuff done, and then really find a way out of the mess that he was in, without death, dismemberment, or jumping ship entirely.
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working hard!