"I will get your fiddle back," Marisan assure Rosie.
That night, she wince sympathetically as Scourge whips Donomsail for her failure. She regrets that she has no succor to offer the tiefling.
Marisan ditches her rum ration overboard, then seeks out Cut-Throat Grok.
"Hello. I am Marisan. You may have seen me dancing a few nights ago. I recently have made friends with the halfling, Rosie Cusswell. I understand you took her fiddle after she insulted you. I have come to ask if you will return it to her so that she might provide musical accompaniment to my future performances. Rosie has a foul mouth but she is a good person, and I am sure she did not mean those things she said about you."
Azadi frowns as Scourge forces Donomsail to disrobe.
she tries so hard to keep that hood up to hide up all the time... being exposed like this may be worse for her than the actual lashes...
At dinner, he dutifully claims his rum ration without complaint before seeking out Sandara and sitting down next to her. He quickly purifies his drink, and then begins talking quietly to her while he eats. ”Hey, be extra careful... Syl, told me that Scourge has a plan to get revenge on you for rejecting him... it sounded like a nasty one...”
Still concerned about the mess he made trying to talk to Syl that afternoon, after dinner he seeks out a familiar face. Finding Samms, he approaches the older woman and strikes up a conversation.
”So, uh, I’m guessing you heard how I fu€ked up trying to talk to Syl? I pissed her right off... I was trying to offer her water like I did for you, but it did not come out right...”
Tessa joins Azadi at supper, showing concern for Sandara. "I think you should try to stick with me, I'll keep you safe. Sticking together is a good idea. I've got some room in my hammock if you want to be kept warm tonight."
After she lets Azadi neutralize her poison cup of rum, she starts to work on building some goodwill with the crew. She seeks out the man with the mustache and begins to swap tales of her time aboard The Conch as a rigger. She goes off on a lengthy comedy that has the first mate falling backwards off the keel and being left behind.
"Not embarrassed to be seen naked, no I'm not." She says to herself as she walks away with her grog. "Just didn't want ever'body to find out this way is all. Welp the deed is done, now it's not worryin' about which side I want to be on but wonderin' which side will have me." The whipping was nothing compared to what she'd gone through as a girl, it won't even leave a scar. By the Gods it felt good to be out of that robe. Good enough that she doesn't want to put it back on right away. Draping the cloak over her arm and holding it in such a way that it covers her lady bits she walks over to Azadi unconcerned about showing her breasts or the black scar forming a pentagram across her front. "Azadi isn't it? Donomsail. I've seen you offer water ta some of the ladies fer cooling purposes. I was wonderin' if'n I could get some fer religious purposes. I had ta kill several small souls taday 'n I need ta put it right." She holds out the empty mug to him with a look of hopeful dismay.
She will spend the rest of the evening in an open area away from the rest of the group. Setting up her chime and using the mug (assuming Azadi put water in it) as her alter she spends about an hour atoning for the rats and other vermin that she put overboard earlier that day.
As Marisan approachs Cut-Throat, she can see the woman is well into her rum.
"Well, good ... person or not ... urpppp!," the half-orc begins, leaning in close and resting an arm around Marisan's shoulders. "She was really ruuuude to me." She leans her head back, looking the tall woman up and down. "And it's not really ... brurrpp! ... up to me. She pissed off fart-face Scourge her first day and they confiscated it and put it in my stores. An' everything there ... officially ... belongs to the cap'n." Her voice grows quieter. "But you seems like a sweet piece. So you's come see me tomorra at the stores and maybe we can ... work out somethin'." She gives a rude wink and then takes another long draw of rum.
~~~~~
Sandara frowns and then nods as Azadi passes along his warning. "Thank you," she says.
~~~~~
'Barefoot' Samms laughs at the undine's recounting of his failed gesture towards Syl. "You didn't tell her you was gonna piss on her, did ya? You know? 'Make Water'?" She laughs again. "That woman's a nasty piece o' work an' no mistake about it. Stick with me kid. You don't wanna piece o' that. There are much friendly women on board if'n yer lookin' for company." She gives him a wink and slaps him on the back.
~~~~~
Conchobhar watches Tessa with narrowed eyes as she approaches. But before long she has him at least chuckling at her story. "Lady Tessa," he says when she's finished. "I couldn't help but notice that your muscular friend has been getting on good terms with the divine Miss Rosie. I was wondering ... if perchance ... you could arrange for a good word to be put in for me?"
Azadi can’t help but stare a little as the tiefling stands before him; his attention seems to be more on her scars than her breasts (though the latter don’t go completely unnoticed). ”Uh, yes, of course,” he answers, raising his hands to conjure an orb of water which promptly falls into her cup, and also on her arms and robe, and splashes down on the deck between their feet.
”I can dry that off, if you want,” he offers pointing at the robe, ”though I guess it doesn’t matter if you’re not gonna put it right back on...” Lowering his voice he quietly adds, ”I can purify the grog too so it doesn’t leave you feeling tired after you drink it... just sit with me at dinner if you want me to do it.”
Azadi lets out a laugh. ”No,” he answers, ”I said, uh, ‘I can make you wet if you want’ and she lost her sh!t... I wasn’t even thinking about that kind of company, I was just trying to smooth things out a bit after the, uh, scuffle yesterday morning.”
”I don’t think it worked.”
Conchobhar's words reach Tessa's romantic interests, a lopsided grin overtaking her face. "Oh, certainly Conchobhar. I understand completely. Don't you worry about a thing." she says, reaching out and taking his hand into hers and tapping the top of his hand with her other hand. "I'll take care of it. I will do this for you."
She leaves Conchobhar and seeks out Marisan. After she finds the large woman she remarks over her impressive physique. "Damn girl! Those are some serious biceps. In case it wasn't clear, I definitely want you on my side when s@~+ hits the fan. Please try not to punch me, I think it would hurt a tremendous amount."
TEssa pulls her aside. "What's your name again? I"m sorry, I'll get it right next time, I promise. Marisan? Okay, got it. Listen Marisan, we haven't spent much time chatting." She pulls back and squints her left eye and thinks "Now that I think about it, I don't think I've actually seen you talk to anyone more than a few words."
Shrugging and moving on because no one ever accused Tessa of being too quiet, she gets to the meat of her request "Anyway, that man over there with the mustache," she says, pointing to the rigger on the other side of the ship. "His name is Conchobhar and he's got a thing for Rosie. Nice fellow, could use a favor. I told him we'd put in a good word for him next time you chatted with her. Can you do that? I figure given you two seem to be on the same page that it would make the most sense for you to do it. I mean I'm capable of doing it, but this way seemed easier to me. What are your thoughts?"
Marisan smiles at Tessa's praise. "Thank you. I work out. Yes, it would probably hurt. I will not punch you, unless you deserve to be punched."
She shrugs when Tessa mentions she hasn't talked to anybody much. "I tend to keep my head down. It makes me less of a target."
She follows the redhead's gaze to the mustachioed gnome. "I think he looks silly. But I will talk to Rosie when I get a chance. I am going to get her fiddle back from Cut-Throat Grok tomorrow. I think I might have to kiss Grok. I am not really looking forward to that."
Tessa leans in and whispers "He looks more than silly, but you know what? We need to sway as many of these silly and disgusting people to our side as possible, so do your your thing with Grok. I don't envy that at all. Steel your mind, think of something completely different and separate yourself from the task. Watch.""
Tessa leans up on her tiptoes and pecks Marisan on the lips quickly. "That's it. That's all you have to do. Quick, efficient, in and out, eh?"
Marisan blinks in surprise when Tessa gives her a kiss. The Mwangi woman is quiet for a moment, then smiles slowly. "I am not sure I got it the first time. Can you show me again?"
Clearly Tessa was too quick in execution and should have prepared the woman for what was to come. "Sorry, my fault. I should have told you that was happening so you could have been prepared. It's like this, again, very quick. Pucker your lips like this, lean in and plant them on his lips. Make a little smacking sound to accentuate the fact that she's being kissed. Like this."
Tessa puckers her lips and makes a few light kissing sounds. "Ok. Ready? It's like this."
Tessa leans in to plant another kiss on the muscular woman's lips.
When Tessa leans in, Marisan gently puts her hand behind the other woman's head and pulls her close to her. The brawler returns Tessa's kiss with enthusiasm, tongue slipping into the redhead's mouth. At length, she lets her go.
"I think I get it now."
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Lightning with a blade, fast up the ropes or with a knot, and at ease leaping through the air or in the sea, sensing motives is ultimately her weakness. Anticipating another peck on the lips, her eyes widen as she lift even further off her feet when the mwangi woman pulls her in for the kiss. She makes a squeak in surprise at the effort, either from being pulled in close or from the tongue action.
After she lets her go, Tessa stands there surprised at the enthusiasm of the woman. She looks up at the taller women and licks her lips and then sucks them both in as she closes her mouth. With her right hand she presses on the tip of Marisan's nose gently "Uhm. Yes, you've got it alright. I should caution you against that approach with Grok unless you want to light a fire in her."
Without clarifying if said fire was already now lit in herself, she tips her hat and says "Good luck. If you ever need my help, just call and I'll come running. I hope I can count on you likewise?"
After her response she takes a few steps away and then turns back to look at the large woman, biting her lower lip and laughing softly to herself before she skips back along to find out what Harmony is up to.
She smiles at Azadi and does a slight dip. "Thank ya, and yes I'd rather not wear this at all now that everybody knows. It gets awful hot when I'm runnin' 'round but I donna think that's a good idea what with all them pirates around. And I'll definitely take you up on that offer of the grog. Whatever it is didn't bother me to much first couple o' days must be somethin' that needs to build up 'cause tonight it's got me feelin' the gullywumps."
Marisan nods as Tessa scampers off, a smug smile on her lips. She finds a comfortable spot to sit down and try to recover a bit from the grueling day of work.
Azadi is slow to answer as he watches Marisan surprise Tessa behind Donomsail.
what is it about this ship... women making out with each other, walking around mostly nude, and I can’t hardly think straight about anything... maybe I really should look for a place to ‘get the poison out’ myself, or just ask someone for some help... Samms said she knew who might be interested...
Suddenly remembering that he’s in the middle of a conversation he replies, ”Uh, sorry, I lost my train of thought for a second there... yeah, walking around nude around the sort of people that some of our crewmates seem to be might not end well. But maybe one day we’ll have a better crew and you’ll be able to.”
”and don’t worry about the grog, just sit next to me when you get your food and wait until I start drinking before you drink...”
Samms raises an eyebrow at Azadi's declararion.
"You offered to make her wet and she lost her s~+@? Really? Can't imagine why." She holds her straight face for just a moment before cracking up. "Yer a precious one, ain'tcha? Yer on a pirate ship, Little Bit. You gots to think like a pirate. If'n somethin' can be taken dirty, it will. So the next time ya think 'bout offerin' to make someone wet? Best to make sure that yer rowing the same direction."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After her response Tessa takes a few steps away and then turns back to look at the large woman, biting her lower lip and laughing softly to herself before she skips back along to find out what Harmony is up to.
Turning around, Tessa comes face-to-face with Aretta. There's a predatory grin on the woman's face as her eyes more from Tessa to where Marisan is still standing and it's obvious that she witnessed the entire exchange. "Don't mind me, White Ass," she says, licking her lips. "I'm not the jealous type - I don't mind sharing. You can still come warm my hammock tonight."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Domonsail takes the mug of water and her chimes to a quiet area of the ship and starts offering prayers to Gozreh, both for the lives that were taken as well as her role in the deaths. Once done with that (I figure about an hour or so) she will tread down to the sleeping area and curl up by herself. For the first time since she's been on the ship Donomsail does not sleep well. She oversleeps and has no prayers prepared for the day. When she goes topside in the morning she is still wearing her robe but has the head down, showing off her hairless scalp and the horns that curl up at the sides of her forehead.
”Oh, are we making up names now? Ok then, hardly even saw you there, Elephant Ears. How’s your noggin doing? Heard you took a few lashings for being late? Tsk, Tsk. You should really watch who you pick fights that you destined to lose, hmmm?”
Tessa doesn’t look behind her, but she hopes Marisan is still in earshot.
Azadi shakes his head as Aretta and Tessa talk loudly.
oh, for fu€k sake... there’s like eight women on board and she’s trying to collect them all... why does that bother me, I came out here to sail not to get laid... of course, one doesn’t prevent the other... whatever... there’ll be other ships and other women, eventually...”
”I’m going to hit the bunk,” he announces loudly to nobody in particular as he begins walking towards the ladder down to the hold, ”we’ve all got jobs to do tomorrow.”
"Night." Harmony replies laconically as Azadi heads down the ladder. She's been quiet tonight, mostly observing and taking in the scenes of others. After the panic of the first few days she's figured out how important having people of their side is going to be, and is paying attention to who is talking to whom, to make the best use of her own skills.
Drinking with Fishguts proved to be a bonding experience, and vomiting in front of Fishguts made him laugh a lot, so by the time the grog drinking was done Harmony was fairly confident that she'd made a new friend.
Heading up onto deck for a breath of air she finds herself next to a man with a short goatee and a blue cloth over his hair.
"So, how did you end up here?" She asks, attempting to be friendly.
After dinner and grog she notes with approval the successes in improving the quartermaster's attitude and, since she began well earlier, asks Crimson if there's any stories he likes that she might know.
Aretta steps up close, getting very personal, nose to nose even. Up close, Tessa is assaulted by the scent of a body that's spent a lot of time in the sun, but hasn't bathed. "Yeah, I'm gonna love looking at all that red hair shoved between my legs," she says in a low voice. "Gonna ride that face and make you beg for air. You just wait."
She turns to make her exit and in an instant is flat on her face on the deck.
"Oh, I'm sorry," Sandara says from nearby in mock remorse. "It looks like someone left a mop just laying there. How careless."
Aretta struggles to her feet, kicking the weather beaten shaft away from her. "You too, Quim!"
Sandara just rolls her eyes as the woman stomps away.
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Polli lets out a squeak as her hands are bound behind her quicker than she can blink. An embarrassing squeak, not the kind that you want squeaked in polite company, one that pinkens her cheeks rather badly.
Stunned she was, all through Tessa lesson on knots. As she starts getting her bearings, she manages a "Hey... can you..." but the ginger is gone.
A groan this time, of helpless worry and irritation. Calling out will draw attention to the bound woman who has pissed off... how many... the toothy one, man woman, woman scarf man, ass mate, at least four... and in her current state that would not be wise, no not at all.
Tessa returns before that happens, (the mage was in the process trying to figure out how to cast a spell while bound) and frees her. "You are going to be the bane of my existence, aren't you?" she mutters flustered and annoyed, then slips her way past and down to the galley.
Tessa tries not to gag on the stench of Aretta up close, knowing that vomiting on the woman probably wouldn't be ideal at this juncture. Still unsure if Marisan is nearby and not willing to risk a look over her shoulder, her right hand slowly falls to her side where she keeps her rapier, ready to flip it up quickly if needed.
It turns out there is no need when Aretta stumbles and hits the deck hard. Tessa chips in "Oh my, oh my. It would appear that your ears are so heavy that they are causing you to lose your balance!
You should really watch where you are going on a ship Aretta. Next thing you know you'll be falling overboard!"
Turning to face Sandara, Tessa folds her arms on her chest. "Thank you again Sandara. If you keep dropping in to help me people are going to start talking. As it is, it would appear that I now owe you twice." She looks down at the hilt of her rapier briefly. "If you keep this up, I'm never going to be able to repay you."
[dice=Action 1, Influence Fishguts]d20+8+2+1
Drinking with Fishguts proved to be a bonding experience, and vomiting in front of Fishguts made him laugh a lot, so by the time the grog drinking was done Harmony was fairly confident that she'd made a new friend.
Ambrose finds Harmony's stories hilarious. "Where you been all m' life, Love?" he says after her story about the drunken carpenter. "Wish I'd o' met ya thirty years ago."
Heading up onto deck for a breath of air she finds herself next to a man with a short goatee and a blue cloth over his hair.
"So, how did you end up here?" She asks, attempting to be friendly.
[dice=Action 2, Influence Crimson Cog]d20+8+2+1
"Why don't you just ...!" Cog begins, but the anger just doesn't seem there right now. "I was snatched. Same as you lot," he says. "But I know which way the wind blows and I'm gonna be on the right side of the sail when it shifts. So I don't need to be seen talkin' to the likes o' you."
Turning to face Sandara, Tessa folds her arms on her chest. "Thank you again Sandara. If you keep dropping in to help me people are going to start talking. As it is, it would appear that I now owe you twice." She looks down at the hilt of her rapier briefly. "If you keep this up, I'm never going to be able to repay you."
Sandara just winks at the swashbuckler and bends down to retrieve the mop, lest someone that matters trips over it.
”G’nite, Vi,” Azadi answers less cheerily than usual.
When Aretta starts intimating violence the young sailor freezes at the top of the ladder and starts inching back towards the women. He grimaces when Sandara intervenes.
that’s not being careful... Tessa’s mouth is gonna get that poor woman tied up in some corner for Scourge to play with...
He slowly moves toward the ships rail, looking for anyone coming to Aretta’s aid, and gathering cold in his hand...
He slowly moves toward the ships rail, looking for anyone coming to Aretta’s aid, and gathering cold in his hand...
The tolerance for blustering and chest thumping seems to be fairly high on the ship as other than some rude laughter at Aretta's expense and some glares directed at Sandara and Tessa, there's no immediate response to the little show.
Azadi strolls over to the redheads and quietly remarks, ”hey, I am heading for my bunk, but if anything happens send someone for me... I’m ready to fight, if it comes to it, and I don’t need a weapon to do it...”
He gives a little nod to Marisan as she quietly stands nearby and then heads below deck.
"Hmmm?" Tessa calls out, still staring at Sandy. "Everything is under control Azadi. Good night."
"Ah, ah! Let me" Tessa says as she moves in front of Sandara and bends over to pick up the mop. She forgets how to lift heavy objects correctly as her father had told her, Lift with the knees, not the back dear and keeps her legs locked straight and bends over at the waist instead.
She seemingly loses it on the deck though, strange enough. She keeps placing her palms around the item's handle several times trying to locate it. "Oh dear. It's too dark out here and I can't find it, could you help?"
Azadi shakes his head at Tessa’s antics, but still finds himself lingering at the top of the ladder and watching until she stands up.
maybe I should try just waving my d!ck around on deck, that seems to be most of Tessa’s strategy, in male form... we can’t afford to have two such brazen fools though... we might not be able to afford having one...
Sandara rolls her eyes and laughs at Tessa's antics. "You know if you're really wanting to attract all the wrong sort of attention, you're going about it the right way. You need to learn subtlety," she whispers as she walks away to let the woman manhandle the broom by herself.
She doesn't seem to be completely immune to the woman's appeal, though. As she passes, she reaches down, and with a pinch of her fingers, pulls the white, lacy fabric away from one cheek and lets it snap back.
Tessa jumps a little bit after the snap and quickly picks up the mop and twirls it in her hand as she walks towards the lower levels with intentions of sleeping, a satisfied grin on her face. Once there, she finds Harmony and taps her on the shoulder "Scoot over Vi, it's Lacey." she says, just making sure she doesn't get an elbow to the nose. "I'm keeping you safe tonight, I am not sure if we are making more friends or enemies up there and I can't have anything happen to you out here."
Factions are slowly becoming clear on the ship, but there are still quite a few crew that haven't been persuaded to declare an allegiance.
Awakened by the chime of the ship's clock, everyone gathers for the days tasks.
As Azadi hops down from his hammock, he lands on a wet floor. And if the scent is any indication, it's not water.
"Hey, Freak!" Slippery Syl calls out. "If ya gots ta take a piss in the middle of the night, be a big boy and go up on deck and do it over the side like everyone else. No need to soak your hammock."
Raucous laughter follows as the sailors climb the steps topside.
Azadi
Rope Work: Handling the ship’s ropes, including coiling them, stowing them, and securing them to cleats and single and double bollards.
Harmony
Special Occasion: Captain Harrigan is celebrating something today, and wants one of the ship’s pigs butchered and cooked for dinner.
Tessa
Hauling Rope and Knot Work: Tying and untying knots in the ship’s ropes and moving heavy coils of rope from one part of the ship to another.
Polli
Swab the Decks: Backbreaking work mopping the decks and scrubbing them with sandstone blocks called holystones.
Donomsail
Swab the Decks: Backbreaking work mopping the decks and scrubbing them with sandstone blocks called holystones.
Marisan
Rat Catcher: Catching rats and other vermin belowdecks.
Tessa gets assigned to untie and haul rope across varying parts of the ship throughout the day. She's quite good with knot work, but her fingers start to cramp throughout the day and she's unsure if she's going to be able to finish of all it in time. Luckily, she's able to take short breaks throughout the day to let her hands have a reprieve.
During one such reprieve she spots Conchobhar and makes her way back over to the rigger. "Good afternoon, Conchobhar! How fare thee today?" Tessa swings her legs over a barrel and hops on top, planking her behind down with a plop and placing her elbow on her leg and her chin in her hand. "So I talked to Marisann last night, you know the big lady who's friends with your lady? She said she'd pass along the message today. Just wanted you to know everything is on track!"
After the discussion, she heads back to work on the knots once more.
"Oh, Lady Tessa," the fashionable gnome exclaims, taking one of her hands in his. "If the heavenly Rosie opens herself to my offerings, then you'll have this poetic heart's eternal gratitude." He leans forward and kisses the back of the swashbuckler's hand.
He then bows to her with a sweep of his hat before returning to his daily tasks.
Azadi takes a deep breath as water droplets coalesce above his head, and then sighs as they fall like a bucketful of cleansing water over him, washing away the piss. He repeats this process two more times and then, with a wipe of his hand, pushes all the water out of his clothes onto the floor. Clean and dry, he reports to deck on time.
He stands stoically at roll call and walks to his assigned task without a word. Once work starts he does the absolute minimum he can to complete his job and spends every moment he can spare dousing Syl with cold water, two gallons at a time.
"I didn't think I'd miss ropes..." the sylph mutters then stops as her thoughts stray and a flush appears again. A firm hammering it down with an mental ax helps a bit. A bit.
Scrubbing the deck...
is actually relatively easy and mind numbing. Surprisingly so. In truth she was used to scrubbing floors, usually to get out blood stains and dribbling excrement, from whatever just lived or died on her table.
This would be a slight improvement. Still hell, she adds mentally as the toothy one leers at her again.
"Hello... um fellow sailor." Polli says in exaggerated cheer to young lad, named... "Jack was it? Your name I mean. I'm---" suddenly her eyes widen with interest, forgetting her attempts at friendly banter, and she's leaning over him to look at what's in his lap. "Is that a narwhal's horn?!? Oh and a rather large one too. And you're carving... one second!!"
Polli rushes down to their lockers, going through her bags to pull out her surgical kit, then is back up the stairs again. She has a sharp pick she uses to dig out the rot from people's teeth that would make a great tool to carve into the horn.
But the young man is gone, looking about she sees him over to a group of other sailors, pointing and laughing at the woman. "a#&#$$$s" she mutters then gets back to work.
The nimble Marisan proves competent at scooping up the ship's rats and bopping them on the head.
During the downtime, she seeks out Rosie Cusswell. "Do you know the gnome with the silly mustache? He likes you. Do you like him? I think you two would be a cute couple. Maybe you should talk to him?"
"Are you talking about Conchobhar? That cocksure little c*~+~!#%*!?" the halfling exclaims. "That little t&~@ has been sniffing up my ass since I've been on this boat. He needs something to occupy him besides me. Like a case of ball rash. Or a belaying pin up his ass."
Her eyes light up.
"Interested in the job?" she asks and then laughs.
Donomsail wakes in a panic, last night's ablutions were so peaceful and refreshing that she had stayed out much later than she had intended, the result being that she woke up with the bells and had to rush to get to the duty roster without being late. Going by Azadi's hammock she spies the water on the floor. "What happened here? Surely he's old enough not ta be...nah that can't be it." She bends down for a sniff and wrinkles her nose at the odor. "Someone must be messin' with 'im." She says in the way of talking out loud to herself that she has. "Mayhap I needs to stop worryin' 'bout the crew as such and start seeing what's going on under ma nose behind ma back. Hopefully I know someone who might be able to help me out a little." Going topside she seeks out Azadi. "Saw what them prannocks did ta yers. If'n you looking ta do anything I'm wid ya. Despite any attempts I've made all they can tell me is this is the wrong side ta be on when something breaks out. Anyways jest let me know. Balance calls fer some sort o' action agin' em."
She will work diligently but takes time to try and talk to "Badger" on more time. "Ya said somethin' yestiday that set me ta wondering, how close are we ta somethin' happenin?"
”Thank you, Donomsail, but I think I have it covered, for now,” Azadi answers, pausing from working for a moment . He looks up at the soaking wet Syl and watches another couple of gallons of water form and drop on her, drenching her again.
”I’m just doing that two or three time a minute all day, after two or three hundred times maybe she’ll learn something. I’ll call for help if I need it.”
"Listen, Red," the woman says, pulling Donomsail to the side. "I don't know when, but can't ya feel it in the air? Tensions are high. Keep your head down."
She reaches out and tugs on one of the tiefling's horns. "An' don't let someone grab ya by the horns, ok?" she adds with a laugh and pushes the woman away.
After a couple of dozen times having cold water dumped on her, Slippery Syl moves down through the rigging to walk over to Azadi.
"Listen, Freak. Don't think I don't appreciate ya keepin' me cool, considerin' how f~&@ing hot it is today." And it is really hot today. "But I'm gonna give ya a free warning," she says as she reaches up to wring the water out of her hair. "The quickest way to make enemies and end up bein' the recipient of an 'accident' on this ship is to not know when to let somethin' go." She dons a mask of mock concern. "And the really sad part is it usually affects more than just the idiot involved. It affects their friends as well. Am I making myself clear?"
As Azadi prepares his response, he notices Jack Scrimshaw come running up on to the main deck from below and race over to Mister Plugg.
A moment later Mister Plugg yells out for Azadi, Donomsail, Marisan, Tessa, and Polli. As they gather around him he sneers at the group.
"Jack here was scared by a rat down in the bilges. Head on down there and take your big-titted friend from the galley with you. Don't come back up until it's dead."
Heading on down through the decks to the bilges that a couple of you know well, you find that with the heat today, it's sweltering down here.
The bilges are a foul, damp place with thick cobwebs above and 1–2 feet of dark, brackish water that stinks abominably below. A ladder leads up to a trap door that opens in the lower hold, and a single bilge pump rests near the stern. The bilges also double as the ship’s brig, and six sets of manacles with locks are fixed to the bulkheads in the forward portion of the deck. A number of discarded crates and boxes lie in the foul water.
You all climb down into the foulness and begin looking around. Amidst the boxes and crates, you see beady eyes glaring back at you. They're rats, but they're really big rats.
Combat Begins!
Round 1
The vile things waste no time in swarming your group and before you realize what's happening, there's one on each of you.
Polli and Donomsail are the only ones they manage to bite, though.
”Thank you, Donomsail, but I think I have it covered, for now,...I’m just doing that two or three time a minute all day, after two or three hundred times maybe she’ll learn something. I’ll call for help if I need it.”
A sound builds from deep within her and you can aurally follow it as the sound makes its way up her chest and throat and you wouldn't be blamed if you thought the sound would explode from her so loudly that all on the boat would hear. However, her mouth opens just a little and the sound is as quiet as she is when thinking out loud the volume seemingly transformed into longevity instead.
Later:
Donomsail watches as Badger walks away and rubs her horn absent mindedly. Thinking over what she had been told along with the things she's seen Domonsail makes a mental note to talk to Tessa at the nightly flogging and grogging.
Tessa says is NOT PLEASED about returning to the bilge. It's so f~@@ing hot down here. Wiping the sweat from her forehead with her forearm, she sees the rats, the huge rats way to late and they sink their teeth into Polli and Donomsail. "No! Look out!" she says as they advance towards the party. "Vi, get behind me!"
Tessa lashes out with her rapier, sticking it through the rat closest to Harmony in the hopes of getting her free. If it doesn't go down, she waves her leg in front of it and tries to get its attention, moving around it and trying to get it to open itself up for an attack. When it comes, she turns her blade sideways to parry the attack and then thrust her rapier into the belly of the foul creature.
Azadi makes no effort to reply to Syl. While listening to Plugg he douses her again.
When they reach the bilge he offers ”I can create a current if everyone waits...” before noticing that most of his companions are already headed down the ladder. Grudgingly, he heads down after them only to be greeted by angry rats.
good thing we didn’t wait so I could clear some of this out of here...
Stepping back from the rat snapping at him, he fires a blast of cold at it.
Donomsail rushes down to the bilge, she'd dealt with the rats yesterday they weren't that bad."A few rats? Big nasty pirate man freaking out over a few little rats?" Sighing she heads down to the bilge only to discover how wrong she is. Growling in pain as the rats teeth sink into her flesh she lets lose with a shot of one of her icicles.
Aimed at the one who bit her
Harmony backs up as best she can to give space to the more martially inclined (or armed!)
"Big rats mean bigger targets." She reminds the group cheerfully. "They're pretty cowardly too once they lose numbers and surprise."
---------------------
Also, last night's action can be perform. Still doesn't hit 20 so no bonus today.
I'll do a day action after this? (Will take 10 on survival and then influence someone - probably Crimson.)
During a break from rat-catching, Marisan visits Cut-Throat Grok in the quartermaster's shop. "Hello, friend. We spoke last night about getting Rosie Cusswell's fiddle back. You mentioned working out some sort of deal?"
***
Having already spent most of the day in the sweltering heat, Marisan seems unperturbed, though her dark skin glistens with sweat. When the giant rats appear, she tries to stomp on the one in front of her, but only ends up splashing filthy bilge water around.
Seeing Harmony unarmed, she slips her hand into a hidden flap in her pants, retrieving a set of brass knuckles. She tosses them to the bard. "Here! Fight with these!"