D&D 5E Spell & Crossbones

[Quickleaf]

The Winchelsea

The sun works hard and plays hard in the Caribbean, they say, as it always rises early and sinks late, even in the so-called rain reason. Polly (Prydwen) rolls over to kiss Barrington on the nape of his neck as he sits on the side of the bed flexing his shooting hand from last night. “Mmm. I’ll be seeing you again, won’t I, James? I know you’ll breeze thru like you men of the sea do, but I’d be keen… She pecks a kiss on his cheek. “…to see you…” Another kiss. “…again.” After a moment she releases him to get ready for his early meeting with Captain Read Wallace of the Winchelsea.

Polly gets ready more slowly. If she noticed Barrington’s absence at all last night, she says nothing. After all, he saved her during a shootout and it was clear she enjoyed last night thoroughly. With a parting kiss telling him to come by Blackreef’s tavern to visit her, Barrington heads toward the docks.

Nassau is just waking up, with carts filled with trade goods making their way to the docks, those ships which had to weather out the storm eager to get underway now that the storm was dissipating. A light fog clings to the docks and while there is no more thunder and lightning, there were signs of heavy winds and rain offshore.

The Winchelsea is a fine brig indeed, and various deckhands are scurrying to get ready to sail. By the looks of the rigging and sails, they’re still a day away from getting underway, yet they hurry as if the fires of Hell were under their feet.

Barrington finds Mr. Kells, the hard-jawed navy blue cap-wearing quartermaster, sitting on a crate sucking his lips after taking a quick swing of something in a silver flask. Mr. Kells nods to Barrington, but his eyes are fixed on a moaning sailor being untied from the whipping post, the man’s back a bloody tangle of lashes. It’s clear something weighs on Mr. Kells’ mind, but he seems to banish the thought and simply nods to the man being carried away to be tended. “A matter of discipline, that’s all. Morning Mr. Barrington. Ready to meet the Captain?”

He motions for Barrington to walk with him up the ramp leading onto the ship. Already Barrington can see a man clad in black and navy blue standing at the fo’c’s’le gazing dispassionately at the whipping scene and at Barrington. That must be the privateer Captain Wallace.

OOC: Everyone else, don't miss my new post just prior to this one on the previous page!

 

[Queenie]

Katerina stays behind with Marm as the others descend into the basement. She briefly lets the woman fawn over her, thanks her for the offer to cook, gives her some coin, then shoos her away to take care of business. The less they knew, the better, her father had always said that and Katerina had learned the lesson well.

Down in the basement Kat looks around for anything left behind by her father but finds only old sailing equipment. She asks Nia, "You have some questions you want to ask this wretch, yes? Do you want us all here for it? I should go to du Tourbillion as soon as feasible but will of course stay here to help if I may be of use."

 

[Kobold Stew]

As Barrington departs from Polly after a brief rest (did he sleep? he doesn't fully recall), he is apprehensive. The cotton wrapped around his pistol hand covers a small burn from a spark that landed while he was firing, and it has already begun to blister. It's a fitting metaphor, he supposes. His face is known now, and though he is not certain if Katerina and her crew were aware of the extra firearm in the dark last night, he knows that others saw him, and he let them live.

"You'll see me soon," he says to her as he leaves. But he adds a precautionary note: "Now lock the door once I'm gone."

He doesn't stop to fetch his duffel, and as he walks through the early dawn, he realizes that he didn't clean his pistol last night when he returned. Normally that's a habit with him; what was it that made this past night different? Polly? Possibly; her warm form inviting under the sheets. But Barrington isn't normally this sloppy. Not when he's looking for a job, which he still is.

Dawn in Nassau is always beautiful, he thinks to himself, as the sea begins to sparkle with the low-angled light and the rocks appear to glow with a warmth that will soon be belied when the flies emerge with the morning traffic, as the carts and merchants begin to pass each other and the city comes to life.

"Permission to come aboard?" he asks perfunctorily when he arrives at the Winchelsea. Kells nods as he puts his flask to the side, and Barrington embarks. The man at the fo'c's'le has a proud bearing to heim, and Barrington clicks his heels together to indicate his presence.

"Captain Wallace," he states. "I am James Barrington, sir. I am told you are seeking an officer for your crew."

 

[Quickleaf]

The Winchelsea

Read Wallace surveys this Barrington carefully with brooding eyes. After a moment, Captain Wallace waves him up to the fo'c's'le. Most of the crew have their heads down with various labors preparing the vessel, but a few give him Barrington a nod of recognition, and a few more a lingering evil eye.

"Welcome aboard the Winchelsea, Mr. Barrington," Captain Wallace says with decorum that marks his breeding as an English gentleman. Wallace's bearing, one hand tucked into his vest coat pocket reminds Barrington of the many Navy officers he has met over the years. His eyes shine sharply with acumen and he appears to be a fastidious dresser, right down to the broad black tricorn hat with a large white feather pinned to it with a silver brooch.

His firm handshake puts pressure on the powder blister on Barrington's hand. "Ah, I see you've been keeping busy," Wallace comments with a wry smile. "You served with Hornigold, Mr. Kells informed me. He also said you have a reputation as a competent gunnery sergeant. I trust Mr. Kells' judgment in matters regarding crew and officers. At this, a deckhand calls out for Kells to look over something, and Kells gives a slight bow to the captain and Barrington, excusing himself.

"As you may already know, I am hiring divers, so it should come as no surprise to you that my objective is none other than La Gloriosa. Here, what do you make of this?" Wallace pulls his hand out of his vest pocket, revealing a Spanish medal in the form of a star, heavily worn from saltwater corrosion, but still recognizable. At first appearance, it is clearly a medal issued by the Viceroyalty of New Spain.

OOC: A DC 15 Intelligence (History) check recognizes the exact nature of the medal and deduces its significance. [SBLOCK]It is a rare Spanish medal - the Military Star of the Spanish Main - from the War of the Grand Alliance. Only a few Spanish captains have earned this prestigious honor, including one Captain Javier Hernandez who earned it in 1696, months before he and La Gloriosa vanished in the raid on Cartagena.[/SBLOCK]

 

[Kobold Stew]

OOC:
History (Int): [roll0]

(story to come, depending on the result)

 

[Kobold Stew]

"Looks Spanish," says Barrington noncommittally, with a small shrug. He takes it from the Captain's hand -- "May I?" -- and turns it over in his palm. Using his thumbnail he scratches at the back, to see if any of the calcification separates. "Is it from the ship, Captain?".

Truth be told, he has no idea what the medal is for, but he finds himself quickly distracted, as he tries to gain a sense of its weight, the consistency of its metalwork, any symbols or writing on it. Is this something he could forge? Not easily, surely. But Barrington is gathering information. For the moment he lets any implied questions from the Captain about the position hang unasked and unanswered.

 

[Quickleaf]

The Winchelsea

Barrington's thumbnail takes away a faint trace of white powdery calcification from the back of the medal. The only words seem to be a military saying in Spanish: Por el orgullo de Nueva España. ("For the pride of New Spain")

"It may very well be from the ship. Military Star of the Spanish Main. Seven of these medals were given out over the course of the war for distinction and valor. One Captain Hernandez received such a medal a few months before the raid on Cartagena when La Gloriosa disappeared." Taking the medal back in hand, Read Wallace examines it, taking note of the small thumbnail impression made by Barrington before tucking it back into his vest pocket. He walks over to the wooden railing to gaze at the port of Nassau as the sun finishes rising, expecting Barrington to accompany him.

"A fisherman surrendered the medal to Mr. Kells. According to the fisherman, he found it about the neck of a mermaid caught in his nets. The story, as I understand it, was the fisherman found her dead in his nets yet after taking the necklace and returning to the spot with Mr. Kells there was no sign of a mermaid. Just a torn-up net and a gaff hook covered in strange colored blood." Squinting as he surveys the port, there is a certain perspicacity to Captain Wallace as if he is not the sort of man to take anything at face value. He carefully leaves out the specific location of the fisherman and mermaid.

"The whalers I've consulted with tell me the mermaids are great scavengers. So, it's no great leap of logic to say that if we find the mermaid, we find where the medal came from, which gives us a fairly precise area to search for the wreck."

After a pause, he turns to face Barrington with keen yet brooding eyes, "I understand that Katerina del Corazon is seeking La Gloriosa as well. Did she elucidate to you her lead in pursuing the treasure? Surely there were not two Military Stars of the Spanish Main found on netted mermaids..."

 

[Shayuri]

Down in the basement Kat looks around for anything left behind by her father but finds only old sailing equipment. She asks Nia, "You have some questions you want to ask this wretch, yes? Do you want us all here for it? I should go to du Tourbillion as soon as feasible but will of course stay here to help if I may be of use."

Nia looks over from where she's poking through the detritus.

"You do not have to be here if you do not wish. But, as you are de Captain, I must know before I begin what de most you are willing to offer dis creature in return for what he knows. He will bargain for freedom at de very least. Are you willing to let him go?"

She turns her gaze stonily upon D'avard. "In troot, dere are only a few likely to have sent him."

 

[Kobold Stew]

"It may very well be from the ship. Military Star of the Spanish Main. Seven of these medals were given out over the course of the war for distinction and valor. One Captain Hernandez received such a medal a few months before the raid on Cartagena when La Gloriosa disappeared." Taking the medal back in hand, Read Wallace examines it, taking note of the small thumbnail impression made by Barrington before tucking it back into his vest pocket. He walks over to the wooden railing to gaze at the port of Nassau as the sun finishes rising, expecting Barrington to accompany him.

Barrington listens to the story as he hands the medal back. He listens, says nothing, and follows the Captain.

"A fisherman surrendered the medal to Mr. Kells. According to the fisherman, he found it about the neck of a mermaid caught in his nets. The story, as I understand it, was the fisherman found her dead in his nets yet after taking the necklace and returning to the spot with Mr. Kells there was no sign of a mermaid. Just a torn-up net and a gaff hook covered in strange colored blood."

Barrington considers what was meant by the word "surrendered", and how much blood it may have cost, but doesn't ask.

"The whalers I've consulted with tell me the mermaids are great scavengers. So, it's no great leap of logic to say that if we find the mermaid, we find where the medal came from, which gives us a fairly precise area to search for the wreck."

"I saw a mermaid off of Cowford, on the mainland. The place the Spanish insist on calling San Matteo, once," Barrington lied. "It was in the water, just north of the port. It's not true what they say, you know..." Here Barrington paused. "They don't look like us, they're not human women. When you see one, when sailors follow them, they're not really deceived. Any sailor would know exactly what it was he was chasing." Barrington seems satisfied with his invention, and it might elicit something else inadvertently.

After a pause, he turns to face Barrington with keen yet brooding eyes, "I understand that Katerina del Corazon is seeking La Gloriosa as well. Did she elucidate to you her lead in pursuing the treasure? Surely there were not two Military Stars of the Spanish Main found on netted mermaids..."

Barrington notes the change of subject. "Hm. I believe that's so, sir. I met the woman last night for a first time." Barrington again pauses, as if thinking about what next to say. "She told me nothing of what she intends."

 

[Queenie]

Nia looks over from where she's poking through the detritus.

"You do not have to be here if you do not wish. But, as you are de Captain, I must know before I begin what de most you are willing to offer dis creature in return for what he knows. He will bargain for freedom at de very least. Are you willing to let him go?"

She turns her gaze stonily upon D'avard. "In troot, dere are only a few likely to have sent him."

"Oh, it's not that I mind being here for this, but when our patron tells us to get to him as soon as possible, I do think that is muy importante." She stops to look around the dusty cellar, imagining what her father might have done in this very house. "Let us do this, some will stay here and keep him incapacitated while I go see du Tourbillion. Then we question him when I return. Si? Who will to accompany me and who will stay?"