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cameronpants
2014-06-27, 12:11 AM
Name This Campaign
Part 1: The Smugglers' Story
http://www.vinedigital.co.uk/upload/images/300312_smugglers_main.jpg


Eonas
Melchek Keziah (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=922767)


Plerumque
Ruamoko (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=932640)


Beeparc
Bastel (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=936641)


TheLostDuke
Agon (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=936650)





The sky stretches into the distance, folding into a dark line of clouds to the West. Golden hues splay across the horizon, sending tendrils of dark purple light floating above the storm clouds, crowning them with a colorful halo. The breeze is soft but constant, sending the slightest ripples above the water's surface. Lanterns and lightstones are scattered on the deck of the Soaring Zephyr, illuminating the band of men and women gathered there. They are standing in a crude line, facing west, waiting for their captain to greet them. Most of them had never met him before; they had been hired by the first mate, Allastar Teale, and shown on board after the Captain had returned from the city. They were two hours' sail out of port and the night was setting in quickly. If any of the crew were to change their minds about working for Captain Hasatanas it was too late to disembark- the swim was long and cold back to shore.

Most of the crew knew only the reputation of Hasatanas- he had owned the Soaring Zephyr for ten years and had been sailing for ten before that. He had gone through six entire crews before, this being his seventh. That rumor was enough to eke out all but the truly desperate seamen and women.

Most of the crew had never laid eyes upon their captain before; all but four. Four of his crew were hand-picked by the Captain himself. He had asked around, sought them out, followed them until he had a chance to approach and make his offer. Nobody refused Captain Hasatanas, as the rumors went.

The four hand-picked crew-members stood at the end of the line, furthest from the Captain's quarters. The crew had been present and standing for almost twenty minutes before the doors to the Captain's room opened. First came the biggest Goliath any of them had ever seen. He was incredibly dense, layers of sinewy muscle displaced by ferrous, granite-like growths, and easily eight and a half feet tall. He stooped as he left the cabin, and walked with an angled gait towards the first of the crew-members. One leg was noticeably shorter than the other, and with his towering size made it seem all the more obvious. Next from the room came the most handsome man in the world.

Captain Hasatanas had golden, flowing long hair, covered in ringlets and waves. His eyes were the color of the purest water, sky-blue and covered in intricate patterns like crystal. His chin was broad but not meaty, pointed but not raven-like. His nose and cheekbones compared with the most perfect marble statues; they stood out without being effeminate, hard and smooth all at once. His smile was broad and displayed two rows of perfect white teeth, seemingly without stain or blemish at all. He wore a fashionable outfit of purples and golds, complete with a wide brimmed buccaneer hat with peacock feather. He wore three belts; two of which held swords, while the third had several pouches and bags neatly suspended from it. He walked with grace and intent, measured steps that seemed to flow from him as if he had practiced that same walk to the first crewmen many times before.

In fact, he had done it six times before.

Captain Hasatanas stopped in front of the crewmen, halfway down the ship, and addressed them all at once.

"Welcome to my crew. I am Captain Hasatanas, operator of this vessel, the Soaring Zephyr. I have a few words to say before I make my personal introductions. Let me begin by saying that you may choose, at any point, to leave my crew without reprimand. Doing so prevents you from ever serving with me again, conducting business with me or any affiliated partners, or setting foot upon the Soaring Zephyr. These rules are ironclad. There are no, and have never been any, exceptions.

"Next, I would like to introduce my operating officers and crewheads. My first mate, Allastar Teale, should be familiar with many of you. He speaks for me in my absence. This is Geldos Six-slain, my Quartermaster. He is in charge of payment, shares of boursaries and bonuses, lodging and rations, and ship-owned gear. He is the final authority, next to me, on any of these matters. Finally we have Septus, the bird-man in the crow's nest. He is our Seamaster, and is our resident expert on weather, navigation, and the sea.

"Finally, the job. We are one crew with purpose: we are professional importers, exporters, and smugglers. We are not pirates, brigands, or barbarians. We will not ransack ports, murder the innocent, or rape, pillage, or otherwise molest anybody. Any form of physical, sexual, magical, or psychic assault against another crew member makes your position here forfeit and you will be removed from active duty and the Zephyr. We will operate as a single unit, keeping trade secrets to ourselves and refraining from speaking of on-board cargo for a minimum of one month after it leaves our holds."

He paces back to the start of the crew-line and begins shaking hands, introducing himself, and learning the crews' names. He reaches you four- the four he hired personally- and addresses you all at once.

"Come with me. Private meeting in my quarters." He then raises his voice, yelling at the crew. "Man the posts Teale hired you for, post-haste!" The crew scatters, pulling ropes and turning wheels.

You follow Hasatanas to his private quarters and Geldos lumbers in behind you.

The room is furnished with royal colors- rich reds, deep golds, and dark purples. Instead of a desk, a massive banquet table dominates the center of the room. Some chairs have been pulled forward, two on the right and two on the left of his seat at the head of the table. He motions to them and sits.

"A quick refresher," he starts as you seat yourselves, "for your new team. Introduce yourselves, name and valuable skillset if applicable. Brief information that may be pertinent in the field; race, age, any medical issues. Then we shall continue with why I brought you all here."

Plerumque
2014-06-27, 08:26 PM
Ruamoko has been watching the captain's performance with half-lidded eyes. When it becomes no one else is going to speak first, he lifts his head, slow and measured as he is in everything, and speaks. "I am called Ruamoko, no surname. Formerly of the tribe known as the Tane Mahuta, currently bereft of home or ancestry. Human, once. Two hundred and eighty-six years of age. No known medical issues or irregularities, aside from the aforementioned longevity and certain unusual physical characteristics. And as for my skills, I hear the dreaming words of the earth in my head." Not elaborating, he gestures for the next person to continue.

beeparc
2014-06-29, 01:16 PM
Bastel has been fascinated with everything and everyone from the moment he got on the ship. This is a very new experience to him. "Bastel. Human. 16. I fight people. Bastel sits in one of the outside chairs on either side, fiddling with anything nearby.

TheLostDuke
2014-07-02, 04:18 PM
With a soft rattle, Agon takes a lumbering step out of the shadows. He moves with an unhurried confidence, each motion deliberate and slow. A heavy black cloak obscures most of his form, but it is apparent that he is not a small man. A large hood covers most of his face in shadow, but still visible is the rough outline of an unusual helm. Beneath that, like two embers in pits of black, his savage green eyes seem alert.
The dark red of his thick beard moves, and he begins to speak in a low, gravelly voice.

"I believe what the young Bastel means to say, is that he has been hunting and killing some of the most dangerous creatures in the known world since the age of 7. He has a penchant for precise and thorough violence, and a knack for tinkering. I have taught him what I could, but even I cannot take credit for the boy's ability. Some are simply born gifted.
I am named Agon. I am an armourer by trade, and a hunter by necessity. Like the boy, I am a capable warrior, though my talents lie beyond the merely physical.
My mother was human, though my blood is forever tainted by that of the Fey. This unfortunate parentage has left me painfully predisposed to sunlight, if exceedingly hard to kill."

With a heavy hand, he draws a chair back and sits next to Bastel.

"I believe that is informative enough for your purposes, no?"

Eonas
2014-07-06, 01:29 AM
A large, green-skinned man stands beside Ruamoko. In a deep, sonorous voice, he slowly replies "I am Melchek Keziah. I am twenty, a human of the Black Blood and I am healthy."

This said, he folds his arms, as if daring the captain to inquire further.

cameronpants
2014-07-06, 09:39 AM
Hasatanas nods, eyes sweeping the room, taking a particularly long pause on Agon.

"Wonderful. Now I'm sure you'll be fast friends. I have sought each of you out for traits, talents, and skills that will be incredibly useful to me over the next three months- roughly the duration of your employment with me. Had I needed merely some rope-men or sailors with able legs I'd have done so. Each of your shares will be increased by fifteen percent; please don't tell the rest of the crew as the raise is due to trustworthiness.

"My reputation is well-deserved based on circumstance. I've replaced my crew a few more times than a typical captain's- and unless I get help it will happen again. Before Teale joined my crew I had an Angeli in my employ- escaped from the Krail, like me- but he was different. Noble, pure, fearless. The entire affair is a long and dull story, but the long and short of it is I am now cursed. Speaking directly of the curse is impossible- but hiring you to investigate it is, somehow, not. Perhaps an oversight in the curse's magic... I'm not sure. Neverthelesss; you are my personal investigation team. Lead an inquest into my history, my old first mate and cousin Angeli, and the curse that had laid my ship barren several times before. Of course, my crew will think you are the Quartermaster's new team, in charge of discipline, making the shift schedules, and requisitions for gear.

"Seeing as how I am unable to mention, detail, or address most issues surrounding the curse... are there any questions?"

Plerumque
2014-07-06, 12:32 PM
"Just that I hope you weren't intending for my partiular gifts to be of any use aboard a ship," Ruamoko commnts. "Although it seems that it may be an equal disadvantage for everyone. Being unable to contact anyone who might be able to speak freely of this curse, find any historical or genealogical records, or even just consult a magic-user on the matter may make this a more daunting task than you have reckoned for. If you cannot provide us with more information about Angeli or the voyage you undertook with him, I see little possibility but to wait for this misfortune to strike, and by your reckoning we'll allbe dead by then. Frankly, Captain, if you thought we could help you by being aboard this ship with so little information to our name I'd have to call you either delusional or a fool."

The idea is he doesn't kill us because he needs us. Yay for racial penalties to Charisma. Anyway, Cam, is it okay if I switch out some of my spells, having known we were going on a boat?

cameronpants
2014-07-06, 01:53 PM
The Captain holds his hand up while a smirk plays across his face in a placating manner.

"Quite the contrary. The... conditions of this curse prevent me from speaking of its details. It does not prevent others. In fact, there may be sailors on this very ship who know something of it. Magic-users will probably be of little service: Will-benders and Wonder-workers may be a tad more useful. I agree that there's something of a 'turnover rate'- somewhere around the five month mark- which is why, within three months, you are all fired."

Plerumque
2014-07-06, 02:49 PM
"I thought this was an entirely new crew?" Ruamoko asks, gravelly voice betraying no confusion. "If there are some here that have worked with you before, then yes, that may be of help. Still, I remain bemused as to why you thought it would be better to hire mercenaries to investigate your history while trapped on your wind-tossed, claustrophobic little box, rather than onland detectives or even historians. Still, I'm hardly at cause to judge other people's peculiarities, and if you only trust seagoing men, well then seagoing men we shall be. I don't suppose you would mind if we began by examining these fine quarters of yours?"

cameronpants
2014-07-07, 09:23 AM
"Indeed, entirely new crew. But there are members of my old crew remaining." His eyes glance at the hulking goliath near the doorway. "I hired you to work on the ship because remaining on land is, sadly, a conflict with the curse. I also have an issue with legal channels: this curse is something of an anomaly, and most historians and professionals would scoff at its existence Thus, individuals with no history with each other and talents necessary to get to the bottom of it. Besides, we port often, sometimes several times in a week." He nods knowingly. "Of course, you have free reign of the ship- everywhere except inside the crates in the cargo hold. Those are non-negotiable. We do not sneak peeks at our patrons' wares."

Plerumque
2014-07-07, 10:11 AM
"Do you know yourself what your cargo is?" Ruamoko asks. "It seems like you're the kind of person who'd insist on knowing. Or am I misjudging the nature of this operation? I would not ask you to tell us and break your oath, of course, but I am merely curious if you know." As he's talking, he makes a quick gesture and the intricate mark on his back glows for an instant, standing out through his clothes.

First, spending one of the uses of my Least Dragonmark to use Detect Magic as an SLA. I'll begin by studying the captain for three rounds to tell me whether the curse has an aura and how strong it is, then survey the rest of the room for other auras. Perception to tell where they're coming from: [roll0]

Eonas
2014-07-10, 11:38 AM
Melchek narrows his beady eyes at the Captain. Something deep in his primitive soul mistrusted the man, though he knew not what.

Sense Motive on the Captain: [roll0]

beeparc
2014-07-10, 07:04 PM
Sure this other man cursed you? anyone else cursed?

Plerumque
2014-07-10, 07:55 PM
"I think we may safely assume that would break the requirement to not speak of the curse, son," Ruamoko says, clapping Bastel amicably on the back. "Although... hmm... I don't suppose you might be able to write any of this down? Sometimes these things have the oddest loopholes..." He stops scanning the room for a moment and looks back at the captain.

Actually, y'know what, I'll make a Sense Motive too. [roll0]. Well, so much for being wise.

beeparc
2014-07-12, 08:21 PM
Bastel steps away from Ruamoko, somewhat uncomfortably.

cameronpants
2014-07-13, 12:48 PM
The captain's foot locker has an aura of moderate abjuration around it. On his person he has various magical trinkets, some with Enchantment, Transmutation, and Abjuration. He himself has a faint aura of Illusion. You notice nothing of a curse upon him. However, the room you are in seems cloudy, shrouded- as if you are standing in the middle of a massive aura of magic whose intensity is weak.

The captain is most obviously hiding something. His lips are pressed tight, as if he's forcing them closed. He seems a little on edge even though his voice is steady and calm.

"I am quite sure my Angeli cousin is not to blame. However, he is involved.

"Feel free to take a look around," the captain speaks, "while I submit our heading. Geldos will then take over and assign you duties- once you're all finished rooting around."

The captain bows his head slightly in farewell and leaves his quarters. Geldos remains standing by the door, arms crossed, keeping a close eye on each of you.

Plerumque
2014-07-26, 01:08 PM
"Hmm," Ruamoko says, eyes trailing after the captain. "He's got magic on him, to be sure, but I suppose it's only to be expected in his profession. Perhaps I'll ask to see them later, just to make sure they're not tainted." Inside, he thinks, An illusion on his person. How interesting. Is the face he's showing us not his real one? Perhaps it's just a glamour for his own vanity, but better safe than sorry. I'll tell Melchek later, if we can get some time without his pets." Out loud, he continues, "There's something else strange, though. There's a thin miasma of magic throughout this area, I can't tell what kind. Might be necromancy if we could get far enough away to see it. I would think that it would be on him specifically, although I suppose if it affected everyone around him I might see that as well." He ponders this for a moment, before turning and shouting, "Six-Slain! This has been the captain's ship for a long time, yes? Stuck with him better than the crew, that's for sure. You're the quartermaster. I don't suppose you might have ever noticed anything... strange about it?"

By the way, if the captain's going to be using the color maroon or dark red, I can switch to another color to avoid confusion. I thought he was bright red, which is why I chose this one.