D&D 5E Spell & Crossbones

[Shayuri]

Nia nods. "It is dis way. We will not be boarding her now, of course. Not until you are de owner, and it has been made safe."

She motions for Kat and the others present to follow her, then sets off to the nearest beach, and follows the shoreline.

"The djab haunting the ship is strong...strong enough that I alone am not enough to drive it off. Fortunately, I will not be alone. Dere is a...specialist in dese sorts of tings on the island, and he has agreed to help in exchange for passage. I will take you to meet him when you have had your fill of gazing at your ship-to-be."

 

[Queenie]

Katerina, her distrustful nature returning, wonders just how much she is being scammed. "How are you certain that the owner will give this ship up? Even haunted as you say it is, it is probably still valuable."

 

[Fenris]

OOC: Is Teague still with us? Also what about the doctor? If so I will edit them into this post. If anyone isn't joining outside let me know and I'll edit you out

Katerina nods at Gvido before moving away with Nia and Hugo in tow, meeting up with Ol Zef.

She keeps her voice low. "So, Nia Steeleyes, let's talk about our business." Her eyes dart around the loud, crowded tavern. "OUTSIDE."

The little crew makes their way outside to a more private location. "Firstly good job in there Hugo," she says, patting the dwarf on his large shoulder. "I wasn't sure which way it would go, your insults are quite... insulting," she chuckles. "But certainly his bicep is as large as your head. Remind me not to be on the other end of them in the future! It worked out for the best though, we got to see Gvido's temperament. I think those brutes will nicely round out the crew. Speaking of, I have a few more leads on that from the Seahorse," she waves a hand towards it.

"But perhaps it would be wise to get a ship first, so we know what we're looking at needing. Or might we be needing to make a hasty getaway?" That question is directed at Nia.

Zef adds in "If you do find a ship lass, I just found us a baker's dozen of dwarf powder monkey's willing to sail"

 

[Shayuri]

Nia gives Kat a smile. "He will not GIVE it up. Convincing him is your job."

 

[Quickleaf]

A pale half moon breaks thru the dark clouds as Nia leads Hugo, Katernia, and Old Zef trudging down the beach. Lightning flashes off the bay noiselessly and the crash of turbulent waves causes crabs to scuttle along the sand. Wind has picked up with the storm offshore, causing loose coats to whip about and palm trees to rattle like Voodoo gourds filled with sand and beans. A couple minutes walk from the Nassau docks and you can see the outline of the beached ship ahead.

There is a noticeable drop in air temperature as you come within 60 feet of the ship, a chill running down the back of your spines. Faintly visible in the moonlight is the wooden figurehead of the ship - a mermaid bearing a harp with a gaunt face whose eyes and mouth appear to be sewn shut. Faded crimson letters christen the ship The Coral Curse. There are white Voodoo runes painted along the fore of the hull under the figurehead. Judging by its size and shallow draft, the ship is a 50-man schooner. A rope ladder hangs from the near side of the ship.

[SBLOCK=Nia]You recognize the runes as a type of veve symbol used not to call a spirit, but to bind one to a place. Most likely the work of Mambo Asizwe, Sambo, or the Tengu King himself.[/SBLOCK]

[SBLOCK=Hugo & Old Zef]Your darkvision enables you to see details of the ship as if it were bright. There is extensive damage to the hull from cannon fire, and from what you can see of the bottom of the ship it hasn't been careened of barnacles in too many months.[/SBLOCK]

 

[Queenie]

Zef adds in "If you do find a ship lass, I just found us a baker's dozen of dwarf powder monkey's willing to sail"

Kat gives Ol Zef an approving, if surprised, smile. "See, I knew there was a reason I keep you around old man," she jests.

Nia nods. "It is dis way. We will not be boarding her now, of course. Not until you are de owner, and it has been made safe."

She motions for Kat and the others present to follow her, then sets off to the nearest beach, and follows the shoreline.

"The djab haunting the ship is strong...strong enough that I alone am not enough to drive it off. Fortunately, I will not be alone. Dere is a...specialist in dese sorts of tings on the island, and he has agreed to help in exchange for passage. I will take you to meet him when you have had your fill of gazing at your ship-to-be."

Nia gives Kat a smile. "He will not GIVE it up. Convincing him is your job."

"She looks like she's seen better days," Katerina shivers.

She walks towards the ship with an appraising eye, speaking to herself out loud. "I didn't figure on using much coin to purchase a ship... she needs a lot of work... but with the right crew... could be fixed up... already have the start of a decent crew... it is the right size for this venture... must have been a good ship to start if Blackbeard owns it... then again... Blackbeard... I don't know... and what's this about a spirit... if it was that easy to get rid of the djab why didn't Blackbeard do it himself..."

She straightens up and calls back over her shoulder to the group she left behind her. "Steeleyes, what happens if we try to go aboard now to inspect it with this supposed djab around? Do you know?"

 

[Kobold Stew]

[SBLOCK=Barrington]The drunken man in the vest returns Barrington's wave, and at the apex of his wave his hand makes a mock pistol shape then goes slack and the man chuckles to himself in a drunken stupor. A pleasant fellow, if an unreliable witness.

Polly seems like her nerves are coming down from the confrontation, and she returns the holdout pistol to her purse. It's easy to tell that while she's no stranger to witnessing violence, she has never been in much of a fight, and she is chatting excitedly as they draw near the Stuffed Swan inn. "I cannae wait to tell m' sister and m' pa 'bout how ye beat those pirates with yer deadeye aim. Mmm... That's be a good privateer name for ye James, do ye ken? 'Deadeye Jim.'" She jokes in a serious voice to break the tension, unlocking a side door to the inn. It is a simple room, with a large tub in one corner, a bed in another, and a table filled with charts and logbooks against one wall, above which hang a painted family portrait.

"I help tend th' cigar lounge here at th' Swan, an' the owner gives m' a room o' my own. In here, after ye, James. Can I draw y' a warm bath?" Polly asks coyly, gazing at James with her wide blue eyes as she lights an oil lamp.[/SBLOCK]

[sblock=Barrington]Barrington smiles at Polly warmly. Adrenaline is coursing through both of them in the aftermath off the battle. He has other things on his mind write now, and besides he has to be up early in the morning.[/sblock]

 

[Quickleaf]

[SBLOCK=Barrington]Polly smiles and leans forward, coming up on her toes to kiss Barrington and help him out of his coat. The winds cover their sounds coming from her room under the inn. An hour of love-making and they lie breathless with limbs entangled. "Prydwen. M' real name is Prydwen," she whispers sleepily into Barrington's ear. "It were King Arthur's ship...means 'fair of face'..." Soon enought they drift off to sleep, her hand over his chest.

However, Barrington is barely asleep for an hour when sounds from outside cause him to wake. Low voices of two men leaving the inn are heard intermittently thru the strong winds. Polly is fast asleep. He would go back to bed, but then he distinctly hears a name as the men are arguing as they descend the inn's steps. "...by Steeleyes the Sea Witch...talking...the Tengu King...lead Katerina to him..." There are conspiratorial tones to the conversation, and while the small room beneath the inn proper is sheltered from noise from other rooms, the sounds from outside filter in quite readily.

A raspy snarling man's voice answers, "...these the men you sent? ...one can barely stand... I don't care what your mistress... we'll keep the dwarf alive for... but the others..." It sounds like several other men have joined the two, and one of the voices is familiar to Barington; it is the voice of the scrawny 'sidekick' pirate who fled first from Barrington's encounter in the street. They sound like they're planning some sort of ambush, but Barrington would need to be closer to hear the details...or follow them.

OOC: You've had a short rest, so you regain your superiority dice.

[/SBLOCK]

 

[Unsung]

"So it be true, then?"

Gunner Teague sways only slightly as he comes up the beach, following the others' footsteps, left behind in the soft sand. He holds an bottle in an iron grip, emptied of its contents-- presumably rum-- carrying the empty bottle like a crutch that does not quite reach the ground. A slackness has reached the old man's face, but not his eye, piercing the fog of drunkenness like a lighthouse beacon.

"They say a Curse be upon the shores of Nassau, and lo, here she be."

OOC: @Shayuri I'll leave it up to you whether or not Nia knows Teague is one of the Tengu King's people at this point. [MENTION=20323]Quickleaf[/MENTION] What would Caillou have been able to learn about the Coral Curse in his [days? weeks?] spent studying the ship? How dangerous is it, for example, to simply board the ship? Not necessarily for any length of time. That's just an example. Would I have any idea of the power or threat of what's on the ship?

 

[Quickleaf]

[SBLOCK=Unsung]

OOC: I believe I sent you a PM about the nature of the djab (dark spirit) haunting the ship, did I not? It's a djab (dark spirit) known as Xekik or Yellow Jack, the bringer of yellow fever. Djab are very dangerous (CR 9+), moreso at night than at day. During the day they generally are hidden and don't physically manifest. During the night they can generally manifest as they desire, though offering a suitable sacrifice for that particular djab can entice them out of hiding. Fighting a djab on "even footing" is a deadly proposition (in the 5e encounter design sense of 'deadly'); far wiser to find and exploit whatever weakness it may have, or to find/create a voodoo ritual to mitigate its power or contrain it somehow. There is no knowledge check you can make to learn such weaknesses; they can only be discovered thru play. There are rumors in some Voodoo communities that Yellow Jack as been invoked against particularly evil captains of slave ships, but doing so is a risky proposition because Yellow Jack, like the disease he is a manifestation of, kills indiscriminately. As a disease spirit, he expresses in multiplicity because diseases are reliant on a number of carriers to stay alive. Thus, he likely has powers of person/ object possession and/or can express in multiple forms simultaneously. Caillou, based on his study of Yellow Jack / Xekik the last few weeks, knows the favored sacrifices to summon this particular djab: (A) burning pox medicine, a medical text, or the bones of a great healer, (B) turning a healing potion (or enchanted waters) into poison, or (C) deliberately infecting a victim with yellow fever. That should cover everything!

[/SBLOCK]