HM's Skull & Shackles AP

[sblock=Kolto] Just going to play it out right now.

Kolto leans down - but not too close - to the halfling and speaks quietly. "I'm Kolto. You get press ganged as well, or are you here by choice?"

"Do you think I would gladly thrown in with this #@$ lot by $#%% choice? I got shanghaied same as you did by these... these.. %&*$&@#!"

"Well then we have something in common, as well as now being half slaves to these... What did you call them? %&*$&@#s. I only wish they left me my blade. But who knows where that may be now."

"@$$&$ stole something of mine as well." the halfling says as she walks off to find a holystone and pail. "Maybe we have more in common than you know." she says turning her back, her voice a little choked up.

"That's Rosie Cusswell" the human female says from behind Kolto as he watches the littler woman curse her way to a pail and mop. "She has earned that name, make no mistake. And I think you have earned a friend."

"Oh how so?" Kolto asks, as the woman walks past him to start her own work.

She looks back with a smile and says, "Because she didn't cuss at you."

OCC: Diplomacy successful attitude adjusted to friendly.[/sblock]

The day wears on as The Wormwood breaks through the white capped waves. Everyone performs their duties better than Mr. Plugg or Master Scourge expected and so the whip and cat o'nine stay silent most of the day.

[sblock=Nightstorm and Jaakali]
Need you to pick an area that you went exploring. Have added a map and locations to the RG please just let me know in the OOC if you have any questions.[/sblock]

Kalir spends his time when not working speaking to Sandra and thus he follows her around a little as she visits most of the new crewmen that were abducted the same night that the gnome was. Sandra took time last night to help the quartermaster go through most of the items they procured from the group. She returns everyone some small item telling them how she either hid it while the quartermaster wasn't looking or bartered for it herself. NOTE: Diplomacy no longer needed on Sandra.

[sblock=Items]
Nightstorm - shaving kit
Reiko - soap
Lightning - Spell Component Pouch
Jaakali - MW Studded leather
Kalir - Compass
Kolto - Cestus
Tara - Dagger (one of Jaakali's I believe)
Bella - belt pouch w/ 5gp, 5sp in it.

Also see addition to NPCs section in RG as well as a map of The Wormwood.[/sblock]

In addition she spends a moment talking to each of the newest crew men about the little bit she has learned of the older crew.

The day is long but soon the odd brass and bronze clock hanging from the main mast sounds the end of the workday to a few cheers from some of the crew. Stylized to surround the main mast the huge piece looks like a pod of dead and dying whales swimming in anguish as worms burrow in and out of their bellies. The top figure, a whale of brown and green bronze looks to moan out in agony and it is here that the low tone sounds the beginning and ending of every workday.

Captain Barnabas comes to the front of the poop deck and raises his sword high as the tone dies away. "Time for the Bloody Hour!"

The crew raises a cheer as Mr. Plugg and a few others run to the iron and wooden box set at the base of the poop deck.

"Time for a keelhauling!" Mr. Plugg says pulling a fatigued, ragged, and sweat cover man up out of the small box. The crew cheers even louder at the prospect.

The unfortunate man is then tied by the feet by a length of rope that runs down the port side and under the haul of the Wormwood. The other end of the rope comes up the starboard side and over an arm of the main mast.

Mr. Plugg and a handful of picked men grab the starboard rope and wait for the Captain's signal. The ship is deadly quiet as the crew almost holds it's breath in anticipation.

"Jakes Magpie your punishment for theft is keelhauling - twelve furlongs." Most of the crew gives a cheer, a hoot, or dances in a small circle. "BEGIN!" the captain says slashing at the air with his sword.

Master Scourge pushes the man overboard and the crew starts to chant, as Mr. Plugg and his men pull.

1..... *pull*
2..... *pull*
3..... *pull*
4..... *pull*
5..... *pull*
6..... *pull*
7..... *pull*
8..... *pull*
9..... *pull*

Most of the crew runs to the starboard side and looks over the rails.

10.... *pull*
11.... *pull*
12.... *pull*

Jakes Magpie rises above the deck dripping seawater mixed with blood. Cuts run up and down his body and his clothing is almost a heap of worthless rags hanging form his body. His face has the bluish tinge of someone who has drowned.

Habbly Quarne, the “Stitchman” moves on his wooden leg over to where Jakes hangs. "Dead!" he declares looking back to the captain.

"Let him feed the sharks of the Jeopardy!" the captain says turning away. Confident that the lesson is not lost on anyone.

The body is cut down and left to drop into the water. As it floats away in The Wormwood's wake Fishguts comes up to the deck from below. "Chows on! Come gets your dinner!"

[sblock=OOC] Sorry for not allowing anyone to do anything during this. But I think with all the N and CN alignments the characters sit back and bide their time.

It is now time for dinner and rum rations (yum). I need a DC 5 Fort save from everyone please. Also roll the 1d4 CHA bonus for 1d8 hours while your at it.

Could help with nighttime Diplomacy.[/sblock]

Having finished his short conversation with Rosie, Kolto high-tails it to the rigging and sets to with a will; with the skills learned over years of dedicated training, he sets his mind to ruminating over his situation aboard the Wormwood and dedicates only a small part of his consciousness to the mind-numbing tasks of a lineman. Periodically through the day, he arranges his job to place him close to his new friend and continues his comradely griping.

OOC: Just justifying the loss of the "hard work" bonus to his rolls by spending the extra time.

Though never a fan of senseless torture, he watches the keelhauling with the others. Again, even as he's observing reactions and keeping track of what's happening around him, Kolto's keen intellect is analyzing the methods Barnabas - never "Captain" in Kolto's private thoughts, regardless of what the Tiefling calls the man in public to survive - uses to control his crew.

He arranges himself beside Rosie in the mess and sets to the grub with a will, recognizing that he must feed the machine in order to continue to work at the pace expected - especially if he's to have any energy left for planning to better his circumstances. As they eat, he follows up on his analysis of their conversation earlier and drops a few rhapsodic words about the blade that was stolen from him into the conversation. He takes the rum ration with enthusiasm, feeling the harsh liquid burning down his gullet but his infernal blood keeps it from affecting him too much.

The gift of a weapon is an unexpected bonus - he tucks it away until he can find a minute to wrap the studded leather around his fist and forearm. It's not his beloved falcata, but still he feels better "armed and dangerous."

Once dinner's over, the Tiefling falls into his bunk and sleeps the sleep of the dead until he's called to his watch the next day.

[sblock=Actions]Once more, combining "Influence" with "Sleep," but his actual influence actions will take place during dinner. He's gotten the idea that Rosie's had something taken from her that she misses as much as Kolto misses his blade, so he's trying to find out what it is even as he's trying to solidify their friendship.

If I'm reading it right, we roll a d4 and add this as a bonus to our Diplomacy checks for the evening? And since he's not fatigued he doesn't need any checks besides his diplomacy.

CHA Bonus (1d4=1)
Diplomacy (1d20+1=16) to influence Rosie before rack-time.[/sblock]

_______________

[sblock=Exploraton]Middle Hold[/sblock]

When the pirate priestess Sandra comes around to return his shaving kit, Nightstorm is grateful. He had gone clean shaven his whole life, and given the circumstances, a distraction such as an itchy beard would have been unwelcome. " My thanks to you, and the Black Lady, " he says quietly.

When the time comes for the keelhauling of Magpie, Nightstorm looks on with a certain amount of revulsion. Having honed his skills for the pursuit of assassination, it is not that killing bothers him. But in this regard he is truly a ninja, his preference lying with quick, relatively clean deaths. And this is anything but clean.

At dinner, he sits down next to Barefoot Samms Toppin. Sandra had confirmed his suspicion that the woman was a fellow native of the Sodden Lands, and as such perhaps she might be someone worth talking to. After he has gotten some food and rum in him, he looks into whatever sort of games and gambling they have going on on this ship.

Later that night, instead of going to sleep right away, he heads over to Barefoot Samms cot to talk for a moment. " Hryantam, perhaps? " he asks. " We may all be pirates here, but it is nice to see a fellow Sodden Lander on board. Besides any news, I was wondering as well, could you perhaps tell me who I should speak to if I wanted to set up a prizefight? "

Lightning smiles when he learns that Sandra follows Besmara, and smiles even more when he sees his spell component pouch. After getting the lowdown from Sandra on the fellow swabs, he returns to work, stowing his pouch in his clothes for the time being and planning the evening ahead.

At the keel hauling, he marvels at the strange disregard the captain and first mate seem to have in regards to the power of the sea. He knew full well it's might, but he wondered if the men in charge truly understood how fast it could turn on those previously favored.

At supper, he sought out Crimson Cogward, as the man sounded like he was strikingly similar to Lightning, a man with a lot of bottled up fury, frustration, and energy. Comfortably eating his meal, which he takes time to compliment Reiko on for making it more edible than anything he had eaten onboard a ship for some time, he simply introduces himself to Cogward, and letting the man control the conversation, if any, from there.

Thanking Sandra for the return of her pouch, Bella asks "how did you become associated with this batch of pond scum, masqerading as sentients?"

Later she watches the keel hauling with disgust. Thinking ~there goes the 'captain's' benefit of the doubt.~

At mess she joins in the praise of the meal.

Still tired from his unaccustomed toil, Kalir sits on a coil of rope as the poor Magpie is keelhauled. Kalir is not really interested in blood sports. So he sits on his rope and uses his compass to try to figure out where they are going.

At dinner he sits and chats with Rosie.

Tara keeps her face impassive during the gruesome display, but in the end she has to look away from the flayed corpse and so she watches the faces of the others instead. There's some comfort to be drawn from what she sees there...no one of the new 'hires' seems to be enjoying the show. She steels her stomach and looks back. She had to be strong. If she ever wanted this to work, she couldn't back down from something just because it was revolting. Weakness invited mutiny.

Her gorge heaved, but she managed...barely...to keep her meager meal down.

There was a difference between being strong, even ruthless, and this reveling in sheer cruelty. Loyalty commanded through fear was simpler, and worked when the captain lacked the skill and power to command loyalty by other means...but it was not the path Tara wanted to walk.

It was a sign though, that she would have to tread carefully. She could easily be the next one to decorate the keel, if not. She needed to sound the crew out...find the ones who were not just beasts who knew how to sail, and who might, given a chance, support a change in the wind.

(OOC Note - I'd like to keep my posted night time action, unless there's more to this event. If I understand correctly, this Cha bonus thing would add 2 to my previous roll for a result of 16...yay!)

Noticing Tara with concern Bella whispers "still thinking about the evenin's entertainment? Don't let them see your weakness."

[sblock=Shayuri] You baely made your fort save.[/sblock]

Reiko is hesitant about drinking rum with this lot, but, rather than stick out like a broken thumb, she drank... a little.

As evening approaches, Jaakali is rather surprised but offers a sincere thanks to Sandra when she returns his armor to him. He immediately goes about secreting it as best he can in his meager bunk. That evening Jaakali drinks some rum with the crew, but spends some time trying to talk to Tilly over rum.