And thus spake on that ancient man,
The bright-eyed Mariner.
"The ship was cheered, the harbour cleared,
Merrily did we drop
Below the kirk, below the hill,
Below the lighthouse top.
The sun came up upon the left,
Out of the sea came he!
And he shone bright, and on the right
Went down into the sea.
Higher and higher every day,
Till over the mast at noon -"…
"And now the storm-blast came, and he
Was tyrannous and strong:
He struck with his o'ertaking wings,
And chased us south along.
With sloping masts and dipping prow,
As who pursued with yell and blow
Still treads the shadow of his foe,
And foward bends his head,
The ship drove fast, loud roared the blast,
And southward aye we fled.
And now there came both mist and snow,
And it grew wondrous cold:
And ice, mast-high, came floating by,
As green as emerald.
And through the drifts the snowy clifts
Did send a dismal sheen:
Nor shapes of men nor beasts we ken -
The ice was all between.
The ice was here, the ice was there,
The ice was all around:
It cracked and growled, and roared and howled,
Like noises in a swound!”
-Excerpted from Rime of the Ancient Mariner BY ST Coleridge.
The day dawns in a wash of crimson and grey, sullen, as though the sun resented it’s appointed task. The news spread like wildfire through the town. “Raiders on the northern coasts!!!” Recruiting agents of the mercenary Companies spread through the hovels, and back alleys of the wharf district, promising good pay and booty to any that would take the prince’s chit and sail north. You all answered the call, and now sit in a small curtained off area of the large troop ship. The Captain of your Company decided that your individual talents were best suited to being part of the scout team. You have a few days trip to get acquainted, you may want to introduce yourselves…..
(Please describe your characters appearance and clothing as well, just to get the imagery going)
The Company
The Ship
The North
The Raiders
A halfling girl sits happily in the troop section looking around and watching everyone go about what it is that they are doing. Anyone making eye contact with her gains a smile and possible a wink if they linger on her face.
appearance
Vykral is 3 foot nothing and weighs in at 30 pounds. She is shorter than most female halflings and also solidly built. She has that "Girl next door" look that is captivating yet normal. She has short brown hair and brown eyes with pale tan skin. Tattooed marks on her face show her history of seeing exotic peoples and places. she is adorned in a red scarf, that blows when the winds have their ways, and a simple cloth shirt pulled over leather armor and tucked into a thick red belt. Her pants and boots are a dark brown leather that has clearly seen many days at sea as well as on land.
A thin sly looking human who looks older than he probably is, can be seen always hovering around another human who is obviously a relation of some kind. He wears a tan travelering outfit that has quite obviously seen better days, you can't tell is the color is the truly tan or just an accumulation of years of dust. His weary eyes never stop searching as if something will attack at any moment.
Looking a little bit more trim and fit than the human standing next to him. He is wearing weathered leather armor with a couple of shortswords at each hip, and a large floppy hat. A lopsided smile is on his face, but it does not quite reach his eyes, which are always searching for an opportunity.
Vykral approaches Crisk and with a smile says, "What ails you good sir? You seemed to be nervous about something. These things always seem to be nothing. My name is Vykral what is yours?"
"We grew up on the streets, so we tend to be a bit weary. What do your tattoos mean little one?", looking down at the halfling with a smile.
"Weary is an understatement when you live like us...My name is Crisk and this is my brother Dram"
"Nice to meet you!", she says with a twinkle. "Yes I do believe there are lots of things to fear in this empire. The markings on my face were given to me by some aquatic elves, it is said they will protect me from the deep lurkers. I find people accept you into their culture easier if you accept some of their beliefs."
Noting the referance to aquatic elves, he asks in perfect halfling.
Looking surprised by hearing her native tongue,
Looks sheepish.
A short but heavily muscled man stands slightly apart from the others on the deck. He has dark skin with tattoos scrolling down both arms. His hair is dark as well close cropped on the sides with longer spikes on the top and back. In addition to the tattoos on his arms he has a tattoo around each eye.
The man is standing stiffly and gesticulating sharply at a large spotted jaguar. The man seems to be making growling and hissing sounds as he gestures between the cat and the crew quarters. The jaguar is sprawled languidly in the sun and if you didn't know better seems to be pointedly ignoring the irritated little man.
Crisk's raven Ja, flies down from his spot on the mast to squawk peavishly at the jaguar and his man. Ja says
Smiles at Ja,
"Wanna pet my monkey, little girl?" a young man cheerfully says to the halfling, hoping to inject himself into the conversation. "I mean, um, he'd like to, uh say hi to you." After a slight pause he adds,"he likes halflings izall I meant." With an an embarrassed smile, he holds his hand out to the two rough looking gentlemen. "My name's Ash."
Looking over the young man, you see someone who looks genuinely happy, and ready for an adventure. His longish hair is unkempt, and he has a couple days worth of beard on his face, but his clothes look somewhat clean. He has a loose white shirt tucked into well worn pants, which are in turn tucked into even more well worn boots. A sword hands on his hip, and a pack on his back, with a broken-down composite bow strapped on the outside. A monkey happily jumps up & down at his feet, oblivious to the nearby jaguar.
"EEEEEEE eeeeeee eeeeee," screeches the monkey, jumping up and down at his friends feet, arms outstretched toward the halfing.
"Oh, this is Sunraj, or just Raj for short," he says to the halfing girl. "Sorry about that."
"What a cute little monkey", Vykral says as she pats it head."Hello Raj, and hello Ash. I am Vykral. Where did you find Raj?"
Takes Ash's hand and gives it a firm shake. "The name's Dram and this is Crisk my brother. The bird is Ja, and this sweet little halfling is Vykral."
"Nice to meet you all. As for Raj," he says to the halfling in particular as he picks the monkey up, "He was sort of a gift from my father." Leaning in a little further, he nods toward the tattooed man making hissing noises, and says "What's with him?"
From the safety of Ash's shoulder, the monkey looks suspiciously at the strange man talking in a weird language, and then notices the bird, giving him a hard, squinty-eyed look.
"Looks like the whole scout team is here now, what kind of... I'll call them strengths do you people bring. Myself I'm merely a facilitator for you and a hinderer of our foes..."
"As you well know, I am facilitator for the movement of goods. Specifically from one owner to the next."
There is a quiet knock on the other side of the sheet, and then Aldur enters your team area. He stands a little over 6 feet tall, and his Rakshasa heritage has given him the aspect of a coal black jungle cat. His casual wear of light clothing in deep reds and oranges set off his green eyes, and the golden rings in his ears.
"I trust you all are getting to know each other, eh? Good, good. Right now, the plan is to land at the town of Yaghilla, and spread out along several villages in that area. Your team will most likely head up the coast on foot in advance of the rest of the company, to secure billets and provisions, and to get a general idea of how the area works. My quarter master Hoke will accompany you to see to the arrangements. You all have a good bit more experience than many of the sword arms we hired, so I'm trusting you to work with minimal supervision, but I need good information, delivered fairly regularly. If you run into any raiders, try to determine their origin, but do not get into a pitched fight. I plan on trying to lure them to one town in particular, and smashing them there in force. Questions?"
"Do you have a reliable map we can copy? Also how would you like us to send the messages back to you?"
"Perhaps any gear that may be of use along the coast?"
Knowledge Nature check
@DM Ender
firing a progression of questions at the Rakshasa, "What town are we suppose to stop at? Do you have a supply of food we can replenish from here on the boat? how long before we should expect you to catch up with us?"
@ Dram-
@ Crisk-
re Know Nat- Sure. you know they can, but will this one?
@ Vyk-
"I have copied the map, I guess no time like the present to get started. Lets head up the coast a bit and skirt one of the towns, before heading in to check rumors. They may have an idea of where the bandits are held up at."
Vykral gathers her belongings and grabs some fresh food for the trip, "I am ready!"
"Wow, are we there already?" Ash asks no one in particular.
As soon as Aldur enters the room the swarthy man stops his growling and takes a step closer to the wall, trying to remain unobtrusive. After Aldur leaves you hear him mutter to himself "Doesn't act like a god". The man is shirtless but is wearing doeskin breeches and calf high leather moccasins. He steps forward to the group and says "Sorry for remaining aloof. My name is Balam Ixhauy and this" he says pointing to the jaguar "is my Nahual Jyx. She and I were discussing where she put my armor" he says glaring at the lounging jaguar. We are quite excited about working with all of you, and I will be ready to go just as soon as I find my armor." At that moment the jaguar stands up and walks over to where Balam is standing revealing leather armor she was laying on. Balam growls something at the cat and puts on his armor. "All right, good to go!"
Ash offers Balam his hand. As his eyes shift back and forth between the tattooed man and the big cat, in a hushed voice, he asks, "He's not going to try and eat my monkey, is he?"
Balam shakes Ash's hand and says with an easy smile "Nah, she's really good about not eating other people's nahaul. She won't bother the raven either. So does anyone know anything about these raiders we are scouting out?"
The next morning, the ship pulls into a small sheltered cove. A small settlement, maybe 200 families, cluster around a set of sturdy stone wharves. Past the shoreline, the country quickly rises into the foot hills characteristic of this area It looks a little like this.
As the transport pulls into port, you all notice a number of scorch marks, as though something had burned fiercely on the water's surface. You notice some of the buildings likewise show signs of recent burning, especially the thatched roofs and delicate window coverings. Several dozen naga are at work on the shore, repairing ships and tools. Female naga and older children crouch in the shade, repairing fishing nets and sails. Younger children race along the sand, waving sticks at each other, and yelling. Several greyscaled elders are waiting on the wharf as the Dark Star pulls up.
"We thank you for coming to defend our village. You are welcome to come ashore."
Aldur thanks them, and then begins directing the off loading of the troops and supplies. Hosk, staggering under a wicker backpack and carrying a bronze banded club, huffs over to the group. "So, how are you bright ones planning on getting to the next village? Can any of you sail? I may be able to scare up a small boat if you all can crew it."
"I unfortunately do not have much experience with a boat, but I am sure I can lend a strong back to the task. How far is the next village on foot?"
"I have been on many ships before but never had to do anything but sing. I can sing if it will help!"
"Ummm. Not really," Ash says, looking around. "Are horses not an option?"
"I can sail. I come from a small island chain and we all learn to sail between islands, as some things on our island are scarce. I don't think I'd be good for a trans-ocean voyage, but I can go up and down the coast or down a river, I think."
"I can move around a boat well between levitation, my balance, and swimming, but actual craft navigation... No, Not really..."
"I will bow to the expertise of Balam and Hosk."
"If Balam is game, I'm willing to crew, it might be good to learn a new profession if nothing else on this trip..."
"Sounds good to me," Ash says. "I'll help any way I can."
Hosk sighs wearily "No good going out with a small boat and only one of you knowing how to handle it. Good way to end up wet, or dead. Looks like we'll have to walk after all. You should all probably try to find the village head, see if they know of any good roads form here to the next town. Oh, and finding out what the next town is called, and whether they are friendly, is probably good information to have as well."
Note to all
asking the Greyscales on the docks, "Can you direct us to the village elders?"
The Greyscales look disturbed at being addressed in so direct a manner.
"How may this one be of assistance?" Asks a younger, greener Naga.