A Rather Odd Shovel [Judge: Bront]

[Boddynock]

OOC: Never turn down a good fight (although it seems a bit unfair to launch into battle as soon as covaithe leaves ) but I like your style, and I'm happy to go with the flow (particularly as my posting is much reduced).

Of course, the less talking we do, the less chance we have of Keldar getting us into trouble.

I don't mind a mix of non-plot related and plot-related battle, so long as the random stuff doesn't predominate.

 

[Trouvere]

After a few days, you reach a particularly tough part of the river, and the captain looks a little nervous as he directs his crew to pole off of rocks and avoid the rapids. After a few hours of tight navigation, the river suddenly opens up into a large lake. The captain says, "Ah, thah 'tis, th' 'ard part's is ovah, an' nah weh enjoy a li'l cruise on th' Kithsul! A few mo' days t' Fallon, yeh?"

Keldar, perhaps surprisingly, resists the temptation to practice with his new whip near Galwynn, and mostly keeps to himself during the daylight hours of the voyage. He spends a lot of time perched in odd corners of the boat with the book borrowed from Thyrin on his lap, muttering to himself.

When the longship emerges into the wider waters of the lake, he stands at the rail, shading his eyes, gazing to the shores in the distance. "Arrr," he says, "That thah were a fine bit o' polin' an' rowin' through a mighty ticklish spot by tha finest crew that e'er set oar to water." It seems he's picked up a bit of an accent.

 

[Solange]

OOC: I'm fine with the flow, though an occasional fight is always good.

Rapture enjoys the quiet trip, the wind in her hair, the quiet of the ship (when Keldar isn't singing). She tries to not let herself get too relaxed, but enjoys the calm peace of being on the water.

"Ahoy dread pirate Keldar, be we avasting any scurvies today?" Rapture jests at his accent.

 

[Rae ArdGaoth]

The captain gives Keldar and Rapture a raised eyebrow. "Ye ha'en' been t' sea long, ye nutty landlubbers. S'pose we'll take 't as flatt'ry, neh?" He shakes his head and turns to face the open water.

After a day on the Kithsul, you appreciate the relative ease and speed of traveling with the wind on a smooth lake. Small islands pass quickly on the horizon, much more quickly than the river sides ever did. And now night falls.

**FLASHBACK!!**

The first mate wants to assign you all watch times, and requires you to be ready to make yourselves useful at a moment's notice. He says in a courteous, foreign accent with horrible grammar, "Ahem. Since there be six of yous, mayhaps yous might all be so kind to provides myself with times during which yourselfs shall be watching for danger? I shall require 8 hours of watch services from each of yous, each of yous would share yous's watch time with another of yous. Is myself understanded?"

 

[Boddynock]

Tarag listens politely to the first mate, then says, "Eight hours of watch apiece, with two of us on watch together?"

He thinks for a moment and then replies, "If we take two hour shifts each night for 4 nights, then we'll fulfill your requirements. I suggest that Rapture and Tommy take the first watch, since Tommy can then get a good night's sleep to prepare his spells, and Rapture can keep an eye on Tommy, since he does tend to be a bit excitable."

Here he pauses to wink at the young mage before continuing.

"Then Galwynn and I can take second watch - we're both hardy enough to ignore the inconvenience of getting up in the middle of the night. And Keldar and Fimble can take the last watch, since that'll give Fimble a chance to get a good night's sleep and I'm sure that Keldar will welcome the opportunity to engage an experienced bard in conversation."

He then continues in a low voice pitched for Keldar alone, "And not have any other distractions, no matter how pleasant."

 

[Trouvere]

Tarag's quiet aside leaves Keldar looking discomfited. "It's-" he says, then frowns and turns to the first mate.

"You'll have to excuse him," he says. "It's the forge-fumes from hot metal and coal. There aren't any, you see. All this fresh air makes him dizzy."

"The mate means eight hours each and every day, dawn till dawn, all the way to Fallon. Now, six of us, in pairs, that's three watches, of course. I daresay the ship will lay at anchor in the river for the night, or tie up at little docks some of the time. Danger can come from anywhere at any time on a river, but it's more likely at night. We could divide that watch up between us, but that's just too much trouble. So, Tarag, Fimble, since you're the night-sighted among us, you've drawn the short straw, if you'll pardon the expression. It's really an honour."

"Oh, and I know there are lots of gnomish bards, but Fimble's not one of them, are you, Fimble? He's an illusionist, which is like a wizard, only better. He explained it to Tommy and me before."[sblock=OOC]The mate does mean 24 hour watches, doesn't he?
Roughly 6am-2pm Galwynn/Rapture;
2pm-10pm Keldar/Tommy;
10pm-6am Tarag/Fimble works for me; Tommy prepares spells on first waking as usual; Fimble goes to sleep at dawn and prepares in the early afternoon; Tarag prays at dawn when he goes off-duty, then goes to sleep till mid-afternoon. Rapture and Keldar can switch their watches around, but it's probably best to keep Galwynn and Keldar separated - because Keldar's +3 Spot counterbalances Tommy's -1. Since Galwynn will presumably sleep out of his plate armor, it might be good if he slept in the afternoon, when there are three of us awake, and had his off-duty time at night with Tarag and Fimble.
How is that?[/sblock]

 

[Rae ArdGaoth]

"Mmm, yes, of course, I meaned each night and day, 8 hours. Apologies, my Common is not yet very well."

Fimble pipes up, "Yes, I was going to say, I'm not quite a bard! Though I've told a tale or two, I daresay I'm not a taleswapper. I'm happy to watch at night, as long as I get a full eight hours rest. Tarag and I are both crafters, of a sort, we'll have plenty to discuss."

 

[Trouvere]

"If you ever have any aspirations in that area, Fimble, you just ask old Keldar to show you the way. I've given a few pointers to Volidar Stormblade, you know."

 

[Solange]

"Perhaps Galwynn and I had best be on different watches, to spread out our skill at the blade," Rapture suggests. "Besides, I'd have thought you'd have tried to find a watch shift with me Keldar."

OOC: I suggest swapping Keldar and Galwynn. 2 Paladins on the same watch seems redundant, and this keeps Keldar and Galwynn safely apart

 

[Trouvere]

"Mmm, ah," says Keldar, pulling at an earlobe. "If you, I mean... I was... Tarag seems to think you'd be... Well, if you don't mind...."