Blizzard at Revel's End (IC)

[jmucchiello]

"Berries?" the oldish dark gnome says to the doctor. "I'm surprised people take them from you. Vile sweet things. If you like 'em you're never going to find more of them in this weather. Now mushrooms, hearty plants. Grow anywhere it's cold and damp."

 

[VLAD the Destroyer]

Jathlin waited impatiently for the jailors to come. He had never been good at waiting. His eyes glanced towards the runes to the anti-magic field that prevented him from casting spells. He looked them over again hoping that perhaps the collision might have disrupted the enchantment in some way. He shook his head he had never been much for spellcraft.

He shifted his attention towards the door as the captain entered. A quip grew on Jathlin's lips but died in his throat when the lizardman walked in behind the halfling captain. He looks over the creature. He had worked with one of its kind several years ago on the Dread Tide. That one was odd but loyal and probably the scariest fighter Jathlin had ever met. He sized up the lizardfolk making sure to keep his reaction calm. Impressions were important, he had used his own appearance to intimidate enemies. He was aware of two of the other new prisoners back away from Razum. Jathlin smirked that was the worst thing to do. He looked at Razum and spoke up to distract him.

"So what do you ant us to do first Boss"

Jathlin gave Razum his most saccharine smile. He the moved to several large crates that he began to manhandle towards the large opening to the hold.

OOC: Arcana Check: 1d20 10 Checking the anti magic field on the ships cell Insight Check: 1d20+6 8 Sizing up Razum. Athletics Check: 1d20+5 18 Moving crates.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

Volunteers

The prisoners who volunteered to help in the ship's offloading were assigned tasks and Kriv sent them out into the driving sleet under the watchful gaze of a dozen guards. Three of them manned the large wheel that would raise and lower the elevator car, while the others rode it down to the slippery, ice-coated docks, where they began to chip away that the slick surface with icebreakers. By the time the first crates had been hoisted over the ship's side, they were already cold and damp through the tattered greatcoats that had been provided.

Prisoner 284, while directing a load onto a sledge with his hook, managed to palm a steel comb out of a crate with a broken seal, and slipped it into Prisoner 287's greatcoat. The move had been smooth as silk, but the second prisoner's reaction momentarily alerted a guard who stepped in to keep them apart. It was well known that the two had botched some sort of heist, and the guards expected the rougher one to murder the nobleman at any time. They had a bet going. But Kriv would not stand for it during a task such as this.

"Keep it going, you two!" barked the guard as prisoner 137 hauled the sledge away while beginning a well-known chant that had others joining in, keeping the work going. This made the guard nod, satisfied, as the work continued at a steady pace.

OOC: More to come.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

Staff & Guests

Many of the prisoners and guards knew Doc Halfhand, and he was well regarded by both. The guards nodded as the giant-kin arrived and stood out of his way as he checked the workers' health, and helped them to move some of the heavier or more awkward objects. He had missed the new doctor's arrival, but he heard about it from a guard, who told him, "I'm sure the warden'll let ya stay the winter if ya like, but we won't be needin' ya as bad as last time, now'n we got a fancy new Doc from Waterdeep!"

Lex gave off watching the prisoners offload what he was quite sure was a crate of contraband, the way the guards seemed to miss the shifting looks and glances. He made his way down the off-ramp and was checked over by what he assumed was a very curious and enormous local. He made his way up the dock to the lift, and was about to cram himself in with the latest cargo load, when he noticed something shift the slush-covered foam in the stormy water at the base of the cliff.

OOC: More on that in a bit....

Razum braved the bitter cold and arrived aboard the Gray Seagull with two guards carrying manacles. He accompanied the Captain to the prison hold (aft of the main hold, from which sailors had begun to hoist the cargo). After numbering the prisoners 292 through 299, he agreed to allow the captain to 'borrow' the three largest. With the hatches open, the weather worked its way into the hold, and Razum hugged a corner next to some barrels, to stay out of the way and out of the wind as he watched the new prisoners work.

OOC: More on that in a bit, too....

 

[Kobold Stew]

Staff & Guests

Many of the prisoners and guards knew Doc Halfhand, and he was well regarded by both. The guards nodded as the giant-kin arrived and stood out of his way as he checked the workers' health, and helped them to move some of the heavier or more awkward objects. He had missed the new doctor's arrival, but he heard about it from a guard, who told him, "I'm sure the warden'll let ya stay the winter if ya like, but we won't be needin' ya as bad as last time, now'n we got a fancy new Doc from Waterdeep!"

Halfhand smiles, a baring of the teeth that he does not mean to look fierce, but which inevitably does.

He shrugs. "If I'm not needed here, I shall probably head off soon. There are others who need tending as the temperature drops. Ones without a real doctor from Waterdeep." He pulls on a rope, and binds it to a cleat on the wharf, until the ground below the shifting boom-crane is cleared.

 

[jmucchiello]

OOC: Does Lex think the contraband is strictly a prisoner thing? Or is it obvious one or more of the guards are fully aware of the contraband and most likely are the ones who will use it to bargain with the prisoners?

 

[Steve Gorak]

Thorbin is getting anxious: there is much activity outside yet he is still stuck in this cell. He observes the movement outside, and tries to to get a sense of the prison’s hierarchy, if there is one. He’d have to get used to being patient, it really wasn’t his strength. And again, perhaps he wouldn’t be patient, his impulsivity had served him well in the past, at least most of the time.

OOC: catching up and apologies for being quiet: Thorbin was stuck in the hold, and I wasn’t going to post until he got out. I’m still not clear if the ship’s prisoners are out of the hold yet. In any case, here are the rolls: Perception: 7; insight: 14; investigation 20 (natural 20)

 

[FitzTheRuke]

Does Lex think the contraband is strictly a prisoner thing? Or is it obvious one or more of the guards are fully aware of the contraband and most likely are the ones who will use it to bargain with the prisoners?

OOC: Lex is pretty sure that there's guards involved, and he's taken note as to who should be questioned, but he got the feeling that it would be dangerous and possibly counterproductive to intervene here and now. (This is unrelated to Py'Cott's petty theft.) You can choose to inform the warden, or blackmail the guards, or whatever you prefer once you're established in the prison.

 

[KahlessNestor]

Revel’s End
End of autumn
Weather: Freezing and wet. Sleet. Rough water and sea spray. Fog
Round 0

Valrin returned for another sledge load. The dock was getting crowded now, what with a dozen guards from the prison, some guards from the ship, sailors, and cargo. While waiting for the next net of cargo, one of the newer guards -- this was his first winter at the prison -- was jostled trying to avoid the errant swing of the crane in the wind, his armor unbalancing him, sending him reeling toward the water. Valrin grabbed the guard by the elbow, hauling him upright.

“You fall in that water, you’re dead,” Valrin warned the boy. “I suggest you go stand over there, out of the way.” He indicated where the other guards stood. Someone had dragged out a barrel and started a fire, and they were passing around a flask of ale and holding mugs of hot chicory as they watched the prisoners work. It was still miserable for the guards in the sleet and wind, but at least they had that minor comfort.

Spoiler: Valrin Character Tracker

Valrin Thann Character Sheet
Prisoner 137
AC 15
HP 41/41
Rage: 3/3/LR, Reckless Attack, Frenzy

 

[FitzTheRuke]

In the Hold

Many of the new prisoners in the ship's hold were terrified. They had been delivered into the hands of a hungry-looking lizard-man, who had counted them off by number, as if ordering them for his dinner-pot. When Captain Halehearty asked for three prisoners, Jathlin (now prisoner #299) took charge of the two closest to him and put them to work rigging the cargo netting to the ship's crane. It was obvious to everyone that he was an experienced sailor, and not a lowly deck-hand.

Thorbin (now Prisoner #295) held back, trying to understand his place in this new world. There was much noise from outside, and in the hold, the prisoners who were not helping huddled together for warmth as the lizard-man's two guards began to fix them with manacles. Thorbin was grabbed roughly, but only one of his arms had been firmly secured when something happend:

He had caught the eye of the lizard-man, and both knew that they both had felt, more than heard (due to the noise of the offloading), the feeling of something large rub against the ship's hull from outside - in the cold depths of the sea. Thorbin instinctively lunged forward, pulling his hands free of the guard, as the side of the ship exploded in a shower of splinters and water.

On the Docks

At that time, work had continued at a solid pace. A young guard nodded at Prisoner 137 (Valrin) as he moved to warm his hands over the barrel-fire, The prisoner dragged his empty sledge back toward the ship past others who worked at chipping ice and hauling nets, with Doc Halfhand there to help and to monitor for exposure and fatigue. The elevator doors were closed for a full load, which began to haul its way upward, with Lex aboard.

Then a deep thud sounded under the ship and a spray of seawater hurled twenty feet into the air. The weathered dock lurched, toppling a stack of barrels and throwing a handful of men into the icy, frothing sea.

OOC: See the (ooc) thread, please.