A Paid Trip to Spellhold [D&D 4e]
Voda Vosa
First Post
"Aye, I have spoken to Fermach meself. Just stay away from the forge and from my personal room and we'll be just fine lad. Also this is Salmar, my trusted advisor." The captain pats the dwarf's broad shoulders. Salmar nods towards you, looking appreciatively at Cliff and Chizz.
At this moment, Asterion arrives followed by Lochlan. They both hear the last part of the conversation.
Cliff Chizz and Taran are oblivious of the minotaur that comes from behind until they see him pass, at his side a small human follows.
"Bully! Yer back. Who's this?" Kumar asks raising an eyebrow. "I trust that he's a new recruit! Meet these guys. They'll be travelling with us to the island of the wizards' prison."
DistractingFlare
First Post
Asterion, the towering minotaur, turns to the newcomers and bows slightly.
"Good day. I am Asterion, the armorer and weaponsmith of the Iron Fang. It will please me greatly to travel with you."
Asterion then turns to Captain Kumar.
"Sir, this man asked to be hired onto the crew, on the condition that he could see the ship beforehand. If you like, Cap'n, I'll take him aboard and show him his quarters, and then I can resume my duties at the forge."
A thought burns deeply within Asterion's heart: Perhaps my moment of vengeance draws near. If I can win the trust of these adventurers, I may be able to convince them to aid me in my mutiny.
This possibility creates a growing sense of excitement and dread within the bull-headed blacksmith.
"Good day. I am Asterion, the armorer and weaponsmith of the Iron Fang. It will please me greatly to travel with you."
Asterion then turns to Captain Kumar.
"Sir, this man asked to be hired onto the crew, on the condition that he could see the ship beforehand. If you like, Cap'n, I'll take him aboard and show him his quarters, and then I can resume my duties at the forge."
A thought burns deeply within Asterion's heart: Perhaps my moment of vengeance draws near. If I can win the trust of these adventurers, I may be able to convince them to aid me in my mutiny.
This possibility creates a growing sense of excitement and dread within the bull-headed blacksmith.
Voda Vosa
First Post
The captain examins Lochlan for a moment, and gives a slap on the dwarf's head. "See I told ya Bully would get us good mariners. The dwarf grunts and takes two gold pieces which he hands to Kumar. The half orc pockets his gambit smiling "Yar hired lad, get your self into the boat. That's for all of you too lazy freshwater dogs! We are sailing today!" with that the sailors begin to get in to boat. The captain and the dwarf are the first to get in.
In the general chaos of the load of the remaining cargo, Asterion has a chance to speak alone with the adventurers before getting into the ship...
In the general chaos of the load of the remaining cargo, Asterion has a chance to speak alone with the adventurers before getting into the ship...
DistractingFlare
First Post
Asterion, the bull-headed blacksmith, turns to face the newcomers. He addresses them in a furtive, hushed growl of a voice.
"You adventurers, please listen to me. Captain Kumar is not to be trusted, nor is the dwarf. I've crewed this ship for many years an seen many a passenger sold into slavery in order to turn a quick profit. Allow me to stay with you and aid you on whatever mission you're undertaking. I will do my best to protect you from the dread captain's wiles."
"You adventurers, please listen to me. Captain Kumar is not to be trusted, nor is the dwarf. I've crewed this ship for many years an seen many a passenger sold into slavery in order to turn a quick profit. Allow me to stay with you and aid you on whatever mission you're undertaking. I will do my best to protect you from the dread captain's wiles."
On Puget Sound
First Post
Thanks, friend. I'm from the Isles, and Kumar is well known there. If you've survived in his crew, you're tough enough to join us. And if you're willing to risk his wrath to warn us, you're brave enough, or perhaps foolish enough.
Velmont
First Post
Feeling the truth in the minotaur's words, Cliff nods. "Thanks, we were aware of the danger coming from this ship. Help is always welcomed." The shifter then climb up on the ship, feeling the gentle rolling of the ship under his feet for the first time, wondering how it will feel once in the deep sea.
Voda Vosa
First Post
Taran simply nods in agreement.
The group gets on the ship, and the smell of the sea, fishes and of the sweat of the sailors hits them in the face like a fist. Chiz and Asterion were well adapted to those "elegant" smells, but Cliff Taran and Lochlan find it repulsive.
As the last piece of cargo was loaded into the vessel, Kumar cried out "Let's move out men, unfold the sails and lash the slaves! Full speed to the island of the wizard!"
The dwarf grins, and takes the whip of his belt, and descends to the lower chambers of the Sea Carpet with a malevolent little laugh.
After a few minutes, the buccaneer ship begins to move off shore, the lashes and the screams encompassing the movement of the boat. As the Sea Carpet moves to open waters, the dwarf returns on board, with a now bloody whip strapped in his belt. "Turn those sails to face the winds, dogs!" he barks to the sailors who hastily obey his command. Promptly the ships starts navigating by sail.
Chiz thinks he has saw a particular sailor before, a puny little man he knew, belonging to the crew of a rival captain back in the days. Perhaps he knows some useful information.
Cliff notes that the captain enters his qarters on deck, and closes the door behind him. As the shifter narrows his eyes, he sees a small shine in the lock. The shiny grows instantly covering all his visual, blinding him. Another flashback. As if fast forwarded, Cliff can see through the eyes of another person, perhaps the person he was in another life. He sees as his hands (hairless by the way) open the door, and stealthy enters the room and closes it behind him. The room is dark, and he can only see what the moonlight has the grace of illuminating. He approaches a set of papers on a large table that occupies most of the room. In Cliff's flashback, he holds a particular scroll, but it shines with the same light he saw on the lock of the door back in the real world, so he can see what's written in it. A riddle posed by Ilmater perhaps. Suddenly, he turns around, to see a younger Kumar, with assassin eyes fixed on him, raising his blade to strike, then all turns black, and Cliff finds himself back in reality.
Lochlan eyes around to see if he can locate the assassin of his father. His initial survey of he deck throws no result whatsoever. The sneaky elf must be hiding somewhere.
As Kumar finishes giving commands, he approaches trhe group with a toothy smile.
"Get yer horned head down there bully, I need those armors ready. And take the new one with ya, a hard day's work will temper 'im" he says to Asterion, before addressing the rest "Well, it aint all vacations for ya. Find something useful to do; help bully here at the forge, clean, take some of equipment under deck or somethin', before I sent ya with the rowers."
OOC: Well there are several things to attempt to do here.
In sake of getting information about the activities of Kumar and his band, you can pretend to carry cargo under deck, and check out what this is, or if there is something in the storehouse. (Stealth, bluff and perception checks.)
You can also go into the rower's quarters, the rowers are slaves, probably captured during a siege or a sea battle, and will probably have some info regarding the good captain's not so good activities. (Diplomacy, bluff, insight checks)
You can discuss your findings in Asterion's forge, concealing your words under the noise of the minotaur's hammer.
Interrogating sailors could also reveal information, even the dwarf could give some hints if deceived properly. (Diplomacy or bluff checks)
Also there are individual things you can attempt to do. Chizz could try to speak to the former pirate now working for Kumar (diplomacy or bluff), Cliff could try to find some more pieces of his lost memory, or even try to sneak in Kumar's room (although it proved deadly last time) (checks will depend), Lochlan can attempt to find the killer he searches for, however he should be weary, he is not hunting a sheep, but a wolf (stealth and perception checks).
There is also some ethic considerations here. Cliff should feel very uncomfortable knowing the are slaves being lashed, or even being slaves at all. What can he do about that? Taran shouldn't feel particularly good about that either; Nature is free by definition. Lochlan hails from a land were slavery is a crime. Asterion is already at unrest for that. Chiz however, is unaffected.
The group gets on the ship, and the smell of the sea, fishes and of the sweat of the sailors hits them in the face like a fist. Chiz and Asterion were well adapted to those "elegant" smells, but Cliff Taran and Lochlan find it repulsive.
As the last piece of cargo was loaded into the vessel, Kumar cried out "Let's move out men, unfold the sails and lash the slaves! Full speed to the island of the wizard!"
The dwarf grins, and takes the whip of his belt, and descends to the lower chambers of the Sea Carpet with a malevolent little laugh.
After a few minutes, the buccaneer ship begins to move off shore, the lashes and the screams encompassing the movement of the boat. As the Sea Carpet moves to open waters, the dwarf returns on board, with a now bloody whip strapped in his belt. "Turn those sails to face the winds, dogs!" he barks to the sailors who hastily obey his command. Promptly the ships starts navigating by sail.
Chiz thinks he has saw a particular sailor before, a puny little man he knew, belonging to the crew of a rival captain back in the days. Perhaps he knows some useful information.
Cliff notes that the captain enters his qarters on deck, and closes the door behind him. As the shifter narrows his eyes, he sees a small shine in the lock. The shiny grows instantly covering all his visual, blinding him. Another flashback. As if fast forwarded, Cliff can see through the eyes of another person, perhaps the person he was in another life. He sees as his hands (hairless by the way) open the door, and stealthy enters the room and closes it behind him. The room is dark, and he can only see what the moonlight has the grace of illuminating. He approaches a set of papers on a large table that occupies most of the room. In Cliff's flashback, he holds a particular scroll, but it shines with the same light he saw on the lock of the door back in the real world, so he can see what's written in it. A riddle posed by Ilmater perhaps. Suddenly, he turns around, to see a younger Kumar, with assassin eyes fixed on him, raising his blade to strike, then all turns black, and Cliff finds himself back in reality.
Lochlan eyes around to see if he can locate the assassin of his father. His initial survey of he deck throws no result whatsoever. The sneaky elf must be hiding somewhere.
As Kumar finishes giving commands, he approaches trhe group with a toothy smile.
"Get yer horned head down there bully, I need those armors ready. And take the new one with ya, a hard day's work will temper 'im" he says to Asterion, before addressing the rest "Well, it aint all vacations for ya. Find something useful to do; help bully here at the forge, clean, take some of equipment under deck or somethin', before I sent ya with the rowers."
OOC: Well there are several things to attempt to do here.
In sake of getting information about the activities of Kumar and his band, you can pretend to carry cargo under deck, and check out what this is, or if there is something in the storehouse. (Stealth, bluff and perception checks.)
You can also go into the rower's quarters, the rowers are slaves, probably captured during a siege or a sea battle, and will probably have some info regarding the good captain's not so good activities. (Diplomacy, bluff, insight checks)
You can discuss your findings in Asterion's forge, concealing your words under the noise of the minotaur's hammer.
Interrogating sailors could also reveal information, even the dwarf could give some hints if deceived properly. (Diplomacy or bluff checks)
Also there are individual things you can attempt to do. Chizz could try to speak to the former pirate now working for Kumar (diplomacy or bluff), Cliff could try to find some more pieces of his lost memory, or even try to sneak in Kumar's room (although it proved deadly last time) (checks will depend), Lochlan can attempt to find the killer he searches for, however he should be weary, he is not hunting a sheep, but a wolf (stealth and perception checks).
There is also some ethic considerations here. Cliff should feel very uncomfortable knowing the are slaves being lashed, or even being slaves at all. What can he do about that? Taran shouldn't feel particularly good about that either; Nature is free by definition. Lochlan hails from a land were slavery is a crime. Asterion is already at unrest for that. Chiz however, is unaffected.
